VI  I') 


i![i|[|iiiiii!iai 


m. 


PBiyCETON.  N.  J. 


No.  SfuJt: 
So.  Boo/,\ 


The  John  M.  lirebs  Donation. 


THE 


FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH: 


REVIEW  OF  PASSAGES 


IIISTOM  OF  JESUS  CHllIST. 


Rev.   W.   lease, 

AUTHOR   OF    OUR    ERA,    THE   EVIDENCES    OF    GRACE,    ETC. 


JESDS  OF  UAZAEBTH  "WENT  ABOUT  DOING  GOOD.- — Peter. 


NEW  YORK  AND  PHILADELPHIA  : 

WILLIAM    S.    MAR  TIEN, 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

Preface v 

Chapter  I. 
The  Manger, — Greatness  independent  of  Earthly  Splendour. .  1 

Chapter  II, 
The  Sages, —  Philosophy  kneeling  to  Christianity 15 

Chapter  III, 
The  Midnight  Flight, — Tyranny  Frustrated 30 

Chapter  IV, 
The  Temple. — The  Power  of  Sinless  Intellect 46 

Chapter  V, 
The  Jordan. — The  Heavenly  Attestation 61 

Chapter  VI. 
The  Wilderness, — The  Tempter  Foiled 75 

Chapter  VII, 
The  Passover. — The  House  of  God  Purified 88 

Chapter  VIII. 
Samaria. — Acceptable  Worship  Defined 103 

Chapter  IX, 
Capernaum. — The  Dispossession 117 

Chapter  X. 
"The  Mount  of  Beatitudes." — The  Messiah  as  a  Preacher,.     132 

Chapter  XI, 
Jerusalem. — The  Sabbath  Cure 147 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 
Chapter  XII. 

Nain.— Life  Restored 162 

Chapter  XIII. 
The  Sea  of  Tiberias. — The  Storm  Hushed 176 

Chapter  XIV. 
Cesarea  Philippi. — The  Claim  to  Messiahship 190 

Chapter  XV. 
"The  Holy  Mount." — The  Transfiguration 205 

Chapter  XVI. 
The  Feast  of  Tabernacles. — Principles  Enunciated 227 

Chapter  XVII. 
The  Samaritan  Village. — Ignorant  Zeal  Rebuked 235 

Chapter  XVIII. 
The  Sanhedrim. — The  Conspiracy , 250 

Chapter  XIX. 
Gethsemane. — The  Redeemer's  Agony 265 

Chapter  XX. 
Calvary. — The  Crucifixion 280 

Chapter  XXI. 
The  Burial.— Melancholy  Thoughts 293 

Chapter  XXII. 
The  First  Day  of  the  Week. — The  Resurrection 308 

Chapter  XXIII. 
Galilee. — The  Evidence  Complete •     322 

Chapter  XXIV. 
Mount  Olivet. — The  Ascension 337 


PREFACE. 


It  is  necessary  to  state  the  nature  and  design 
of  this  work.  It  is  not  a  Life  of  Christ,  nor 
is  it  the  substance  of  sermons  or  lectures; 
although,  probably,  those  who  are  in  the  habit 
of  listening  to  the  author's  discourses  may  find 
in  it  passages  which  they  have  heard  from  his 
lips.  I  have  been  of  opinion,  for  a  consider- 
able period,  that  the  facts  of  the  Saviour's  his- 
tory involve  important  principles,  connected 
both  with  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  the 
intellectual  condition  of  men ;  that  that  history 
is  more  than  the  record  of  a  wonderful  life, 
more  than  biography ;  that  it  is,  in  short,  in- 
spired didatic  narrative.  The  present  volume 
is  the  result  of  this  idea.  It  is  a  review  of  cer- 
tain passages  in  the  Redeemer's  history,  as 
given  by  the  Evangelists;  and  an  effort  to 
indicate  those  principles  which  the  respective 
passages  appeared  to  me  to  contain.    Thus,  for 


VI  PREFACE. 


instance,  the  lowly  circumstances  of  the  Sa- 
viour's birth  suggested  the  subject  of  the  first 
chapter — "  Greatness  independent  of  Earthly 
Splendour ;"   and  the  conduct  of  the  Eastern 
Magi  presented  the   thought  of  ''Philosophy 
kneeling  to  Christianity."     The  headings  of 
the  chapters  refer  to  the  place  where,  or  to  the 
circumstances  under  which,  the  events  written 
about  took  place.     The  principal  title  of  the 
book  was  selected  for  its  simplicity,  as  con- 
veying the  idea  of  progress,  without  raising 
expectations  regarding  the   character  of   the 
work  which  I  might  not  be   able  to  satisfy. 
There  are  many  other  passages  in  the  Evan- 
gelic Narrative  which  I  had  selected  and  ar- 
ranged for  remark,  but  the  apprehension  that 
to  increase  the  size  of  the  volume  would  be  to 
defeat  my  desire  for  its  usefulness,  by  prevent- 
ing its  circulation,  led  me  to  omit  them.     The 
order  followed  will  be  found  in  harmony  with 
the  usual  chronology.    As  to  the  style  in  which 
the  volume  is  written,  it  is  not  my  province  to 
say  much ;   but  as  I  wished  to  transcribe  the 
impressions  made  upon  my  own  mind  to  that 
of  the  reader,  I  have  studied  clearness,  and  I 
hope  I  shall  be  perfectly  understood. 


PREFACE.  Vll 

During  six  months  I  have  had  many  happy 
hours  in  preparing  this  work  for  the  press; 
anxious  thoughts  have  been  rebuked,  and  gloom 
dispelled,  by  looking  at  the  inspired  account  of 
our  Redeemer's  journeys,  discourses,  and  mi- 
racles ;  and  the  hope  of  happiness  with  Him 
who  stilled  the  storm  on  the  lake  of  Tiberias, 
when  the  storms  of  this  life  shall  have  passed 
away,  has  often  come  like  the  voice  of  an  angel 
to  my  heart.  That  a  similar  blessing  may  be 
enjoyed  by  all  who  read  it;  that  it  may  be 
received  by  the  churches  as  not  unworthy  of 
a  place  in  their  regards ;  and  that  it  may  be 
owned  by  the  exalted  and  Divine  Messiah, 
whose  footsteps  it  traces,  and  at  whose  feet  it 
is  now  laid,  is  my  earnest  prayer. 

W.   LEASK. 

Dover, 
18th  March,  1847. 


THE 

FOOTSTEPS   OF    MESSIAH. 


CHAPTER    r. 

THE    MANGER. 

GREATNESS    INDEPENDENT   OF    EARTHLY   SPLENDOUR. 

The  fulness  of  the  time  had  come.  The  sceptre 
had  departed  from  Judah.  Rome  was  triumphant. 
A  vassal  king  sat  upon  the  throne  of  David.  Vision 
and  prophecy  were  sealed  up.  All  men  were  in 
expectation.  The  nations  of  the  world  were  at 
peace.  Augustus  Ceesar  had  no  rival.  The  instru- 
ments of  death,  wearied  with  carnage,  required  rest 
The  Prince  of  Peace  was  at  hand.  A  new  king, 
the  destined  conqueror  of  universal  mind,  was  born. 
The  involuntary  homage  of  a  silent  world  greeted 
his  advent.  The  world  worshipped,  but  it  knew  not 
why;  it  adored,  but  it  knew  not  whom.  An  occur- 
rence without  precedent,  an  event  without  parallel, 
took  place.  There  is  a  new  thing  in  the  earth.  A 
virgin  brings  forth  a  son.  He  has  no  earthly  father. 
He  is  the  first  child  born  into  our  world  without  the 
least  tendency  to  sin.  No  moral  contagion  has  sullied 
his  nature ;  no  unholy  influence  has  defiled  his  pure 

I 


2  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

spirit; — let  the  eastern  sages  empty  their  treasures  at 
his  feet;  let  Simeon's  redeemed  spirit  depart  in 
peace;  let  the  aged  Anna  prophesy  with  renewed 
vigour;  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him:  this 
is  the  desire  of  all  nations;  this  is  the  Son  of  God. 
This  is  the  Messiah. 

Here  is  the  marvellous  history.  "And  it  came  to 
pass  in  those  days,  that  there  went  out  a  decree  from 
Caesar  Augustus,  that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed. 
(This  taxing  was  first  made  when  Cyrenius  was  go- 
vernor of  Syria.)  And  all  went  to  be  taxed,  every 
one  into  his  own  city.  And  Joseph  also  went  up 
from  Galilee,  out  of  the  city  of  Nazareth,  into  Judea, 
unto  the  city  of  David,  which  is  called  Bethlehem, 
because  he  was  of  the  house  and  lineage  of  David, 
to  be  taxed  with  Mary  his  espoused  wife,  being  great 
with  child.  And  so  it  was,  that  while  they  were 
there,  the  days  were  accomplished  that  she  should  be 
delivered.  And  she  brought  forth  her  first-born  son, 
and  wrapped  him  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid  him 
in  a  manger,  because  there  was  no  room  for  them  in 
the  inn.  And  there  were  in  th6  same  country  shep- 
herds abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their 
flock  by  night.  And,  lo,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  came 
upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round 
about  them:  and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And  the 
angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not:  for,  behold,  I  bring 
you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all 
people.  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Saviour,  who  is  Christ,  the  Lord.  And  this 
shall  be  a  sign  unto  you:  Ye  shall  find  the  babe 
wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger." 

"Lying  in  a  manger!"     Strange  resting  place  for 


THE    MANGER.  3 

the  Desire  of  all  nations,  the  Messenger  of  the  Cove- 
nant, the  promised  Messiah,  the  Author  and  Finisher 
of  Faith,  the  Consolation  of  Israel,  the  Advocate  with 
the  Father,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  Ruler  in 
Israel,  the  anointed  King  of  universal  empire,  the 
destined  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  and  tlie  only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God  !  Such  is  the  exclamation  with 
which  human  reason  expresses  its  surprise  at  what  it 
deems  a  beginning  so  ill  in  keeping  with  the  won- 
derful career  and  glorious  character  of  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem.  It  appears  inharmonious  with  the  dig- 
nity of  Messiah.  Ought  not  the  first  palace  of  the 
land  to  have  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Mary, 
with  all  the  sovereigns  of  earth  as  her  waiting  ser- 
vants, while  the  angels  of  heaven,  who  sang  the 
advent  of  Jesus,  prolonged  their  music  over  the  hon- 
oured spot?  Why  were  not  the  crowns  and  sceptres 
of  empires  laid  at  his  feet?  Why  flowed  not  the 
wealth  of  the  world  into  his  treasury?  Why  came 
not  the  priests  in  their  courses  to  acknowledge  their 
Master,  and  welcome  with  rapture  their  long  ex- 
pected Lord?  Why?  The  decisions  of  human  reason, 
were  its  counsel  asked  as  to  what  it  would  deem  ap- 
propriate manifestations  of  God  in  his  government  of 
the  world,  would  doubtless  harmonize  with  its  own 
ideas  of  the  grand  and  majestic.  It  attaches  import- 
ance to  the  imposing  spectacle,  the  dazzling  pomp, 
the  sparkling  retinue,  the  cumbrous  machinery.  Its 
eye  must  be  filled  with  the  lustre  of  perishing  wealth; 
its  ear  must  be  crowded  with  reiterated  blasts  from 
the  trumpet  of  perishing  fame;  and  its  suffrage  is 
obtained.  Then  it  worships;  but  the  vote  is  in  favour 
of  ils  own  creation;   the  idol  is  the  embodiment  of 


4  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

its  own  idea.  This  is  self-veneration.  This  is  idola- 
try. This  has  cursed  the  world,  and  riven  the 
church  into  shreds,  built  the  dungeons  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, whetted  the  swords  and  kindled  the  fires  of 
persecution,  alienated  man  from  his  fellow,  and  man- 
kind from  God,  deluged  the  earth  with  human  blood, 
and  prematurely  tenanted  the  invisible  world  with 
human  spirits. 

The  starting  point  is  misplaced.  The  criterion  is 
deficient.  It  accords  with  our  idea  of  the  great,  and 
therefore  ought  so  to  exhibit  itself,  is  the  language 
of  reason  on  such  a  subject.  But  if  this  idea  be  the 
oflspring  of  a  fallacy,  the  inference  from  it  cannot  be 
tenable.  What  if  the  human  understanding  be  per- 
verted ?  If  so,  there  is  danger  of  calling  that  great, 
which  unerring  wisdom  would  pronounce  little. 
And  the  fact  is  so.  "  For  my  thoughts  are  not  your 
thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the 
Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth, 
so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my 
thoughts  than  your  thoughts,"  This  scripture  re- 
veals a  grand  principle  in  the  divine  government, 
amply  sufficient  to  justify  the  procedure  of  the  Su- 
preme Ruler,  and  to  silence  the  murmurs  and  allay 
the  surprise  of  his  creatures.  In  the  midst  of  mys- 
tery and  fear,  faith  looks  at  it,  and  gentle  and 
soothing  is  the  light  that  radiates  from  it.  It  ac- 
counts even  for  the  manger.  "  This  also  cometh  forth 
from  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel, 
and  excellent  in  working."  There  was  no  room  for 
them  in  the  inn,  but  the  manger  was  not  an  acci- 
dent ;  nor  was  the  tomb  of  Joseph  the  result  of 
chance :   the  first  and  the  last  resting  places  of  Jesus 


THE    MANGER.  5 

Clirist  were  decreed.  The  babe  of  Bethlehem,  and 
the  body  of  the  crucified  one  were  cared  for,  and  the 
attendant  circumstances  were,  in  each  case,  accordant 
with  tlie  purposes  of  him  "  who  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will." 

But  what  if  the  circumstances  attending  Messiah's 
advent  had  been  of  that  character  which  the  world 
denominates  majestic  or  glorious?  What  if  the  Ro- 
man empire  had  been  shaken  to  its  centre,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  fulfilling  the  prophecy  which  named 
Bethlehem  as  the  birth-place  of  Christ,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  investing  that  birth  with  all  the  magnifi- 
cence which  the  mistress  of  the  world  had  at  com- 
mand? Would  such  an  introduction  to  the  scene  of 
his  destined  sufterings  have  tended  to  facilitate  the 
design  of  those  sufferings?  That  design  was  the 
most  marvellous,  the  most  stupendous,  the  most  God- 
like, ever  heard  of  by  any  intelligence  in  the  wide 
universe.  It  was  the  burden  of  eternity,  the  climax 
of  Jehovah's  works,  and  the  crowning  evidence  that 
God  is  love.  To  make  way  for  the  triumphant  ac- 
complishment of  Messiah's  undertaking,  the  invisible 
arm  of  Omnipotence  iiad  been  employed  ever  since 
the  creation  of  our  earth.  Thrones  had  been  erected, 
shattered,  removed;  empires  had  arisen,  flourished, 
faded,  perished ;  new  empires  had  been  founded  on 
the  ruins  of  the  old;  everywhere,  throughout  the 
wide  world,  men  had  been  pursuing,  for  four  thou- 
sand years,  their  favourite  objects,  superstition,  idol- 
atry, philosophy,  conquest;  and  everywhere,  though 
the  fact  was  utterly  unknown  to  the  actors,  these 
commotions  were  preparing  the  way  for  the  tri- 
umphant reign  of  the  Son  of  God.     Assyria,  Egypt, 

1^ 


b  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

Greece,  Rome,  and  the  host  of  minor  dynasties  he- 
ralded the  coming  of  Christ,  Their  mission,  Hke 
that  of  the  son  of  Zacharias,  was  to  prepare  the  way 
of  the  Lord.  They  meant  it  not,  but  they  were  the 
involuntary  forerunners  of  man's  Redeemer;  neither 
did  their  heart  think  so,  but  they  were  the  pioneers 
of  the  King  of  kings.  They  followed  the  imagination 
of  their  own  hearts,  and  "played  fantastic  tricks 
before  high  heaven-,"  but  as  is  the  clay  in  the  hands 
of  the  potter,  so  were  they  in  the  hands  of  the  eternal 
God,  whose  purpose  it  was  to  "  overturn,  overturn, 
overturn,"  till  he  came  whose  right  it  was  to  occupy 
the  throne  of  a  kingdom  which  shall  have  no  end. 
The  world's  frantic  warriors  had  no  intention  of 
paving  the  way  for  the  Prince  of  Peace.  The  in- 
evitable result  of  acknowledging  his  sceptre  will  be 
to  break  theirs — the  laws  of  his  kingdom  will  abolish 
those  of  theirs — the  extension  of  his  dominion  to  its 
destined  limit  will  be  the  annihilation  of  theirs.  The 
ascension  of  the  radiant  sun  extinguishes  all  the  ar- 
tificial lights  of  earth.  The  rise  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  is  the  signal  for  the  gaudy  kings  of  the  world 
to  retire  to  their  native  obscurity.  Now,  if  the  all- 
wise  God  so  overruled  the  convulsions  of  the  ancient 
world  as  to  make  them  subserve  the  purpose  of  his 
Son's  advent,  the  proposition  that  he  could  have 
commanded  the  ruling  powers  of  earth  to  hail  that 
advent  with  every  demonstration  of  regal  and  im- 
perial glory,  will  be  at  once  accepted. 

In  this  case,  as  in  those  already  adverted  to,  the 
result  could  have  been  accomplished  while  the  actors 
knew  not  that  they  were  agents  in  the  realization  of 
a  Divine  design.     The  question,  then,  returns,  Would 


THE    MANGER.  7 

the  glorious  purpose  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God  have  been  facilitated  had  its  concomitants 
been  the  most  costly  symbols  of  imperial  grandeur, 
instead  of  the  stable  and  manger  of  Bethlehem? 
We  might  at  once  say  no,  and  assign  as  the  reason 
of  this  conclusion,  the  well-known  fact  that  infinite 
"wisdom  ordered  it  otherwise,  and  that  this  infinite 
wisdom  is  an  attribute  of  the  same  God,  who  de- 
sired and  decreed  the  complete  triumph  of  his  Son. 
This,  indeed,  is  the  most  satisfactory  answer  of  which 
the  question  is  susceptible,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
man  who  believes  in  the  eternal  purpose  and  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  in  reference  to  the  footsteps  of 
Messiah.  But  as  there  is  no  subject  on  which  men 
are  more  liable  to  form  erroneous  conclusions,  than 
on  the  character  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the  question 
before  us  is  worthy  of  a  somewhat  lengthened  inves- 
tigation. This  liability  to  err  arises  partly  from  the 
reluctance  of  the  depraved  mind  to  dwell  on  a  theme 
so  purely  spiritual  in  its  nature,  and  which  can  never 
be  clearly  realized  without  the  love  of  holiness  in  the 
breast  of  the  student;  partly  from  the  fascinating  in- 
fluence of  worldly  splendour;  and  partly  from  an 
unreasoning  compliance  with  the  maxims  and  opinions 
of  worldly  society.  The  last-mentioned  power,  in- 
deed, is  one  of  the  greatest  barriers  which  spiritual 
truth  has  to  overcome.  It  is  thought's  badge  of 
slavery.  It  is  the  conservator  of  error.  It  is  the 
unclean  rut  in  which  mind  has  moved  for  ages.  By 
its  influence  the  understanding  has  been  captivated, 
and  the  judgment  imprisoned.  The  laws  of  Christ's 
kingdom  are  directly  hostile  to  the  maxims  and 
opinions  of  worldly  society.     To  rebuke  and  purify 


S  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

the  latter  is  one  of  the  declared  objects  of  the  former. 
Such  opinions,  therefore,  can  never  form  correct  cri- 
teria as  to  what  would,  or  what  would  not,  have  been 
befitting  associations  of  Messiah's  advent;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  promulgation,  by  Christ,  from  a 
throne  of  royalty,  of  the  same  doctrines  which  he 
taught  the  multitude  on  the  mountain  side,  opposed 
as  those  doctrines  were  to  all  the  maxims  current  in 
high  places,  would  inevitably  have  aroused  against 
him  a  spirit  of  opposition  of  the  most  virulent  kind 
at  the  earliest  period  of  his  ministry,  and  thus,  hu- 
manly speaking,  the  diffusion  of  light  through  the 
minds  of  tlie  attentive  throngs  that  hung  upon  his 
lips,  would  have  been  prevented.  The  doctrine 
that  would  have  gained  the  suffrage  of  the  great, 
must  have  been  different  from  that  proclaimed  by 
Jesus. 

But  the  faithful  Witness  could  not  compromise. 
The  time-server,  the  flatterer,  the  parasite — these  are 
the  men  for  courtly  circles.  Christ  came  to  preach 
truth,  God's  own  truth;  truth  intended  for  all  men. 
Is  TRUTH  less  valuable  when  taught  by  one  of  mean 
exterior,  than  when  uttered  by  the  lips  of  royalty? 
Is  it  affected  by  the  medium  through  which  it  passes? 
Is  it  modified  by  the  circumstances  of  the  teacher? 
Itself  answers  no.  Superstition  avers  that  religious 
ordinances  are  valid  only  when  administered  by 
officials  who  have  passed  through  certain  forms. 
Christianity  rebukes  the  assumption,  and  points  to 
her  conquests  over  mind,  through  the  agency  of  men 
destitute  of  the  imaginary  qualification  in  question, 
as  evidence  of  its  fallacy.  The  former  urges  system^ 
the  latter  asks  for  spirit.      That  cnes  form,  this  de- 


THE    MANGER.  9 

mands  fridf.     The  former  points  to  the  scaffolding, 
the  latter  to  the  building.    Results  teach  qualification. 
To  know  and  love  the  truth  of  Christ  are  essential  to 
success  in  diffusing  it.     But  success  has  attended  the 
labours  of  many  whose  understanding  led  them  to 
reject  the  idea  of  an  exclusive  channel  of  ministerial 
authority.     That  success  is  the  proof  of  their  mission. 
Living  epistles  are  better  than  the  prelatic  diploma. 
The   King   of  truth    was  not   introduced   into    our 
world  amidst  earthly  splendour;    his   kingdom  has 
never  been  advanced  by  associations  with  regal  ma- 
chinery ;  coalition  between  the  spiritual  and  the  gross 
is  unseemly,  if  not  impossible ;   and  the   pure   light 
of    Heaven's   own   truth    needs    not  the   glitter    of 
earth  to  increase   its  brilliancy.     That   has  intrinsic 
value,  under  all  circumstances ;  the  worth  of  this  is 
only   factitious.       That  is  durable  as  eternity  ;   this 
will  perish  amidst  the  dross  of  time.     The  province 
of  the  former  is  the  formation  of  mind  and  character 
for  immortality,  under  the  influence  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit ;  the  utility  of  the  latter  is  at  best  only  tem- 
porary.    It  is  one  of  the  delusions  of  time  to  measure 
respectability  by  a  golden   standard,  but  the  gospel 
teaches  that  a  man' s  posit  ion  in  the  unive7'se  is  to  be 
tested  by  his  approximation  to  Christ.     Admiration 
of  what  the  world  calls  great,  instead  of  faciUtating  as- 
similation to  the  character  of  Jesus,  retards  it.     And, 
in  one  word,  had  the  Redeemer's  advent  been  amidst 
wealth  instead  of  poverty,  men  would  have  admired 
the   display  for  a  time ;    but  the  inconsistency  be- 
tween that  display  and  the  humbling  doctrines  which 
he  subsequently  taught,  would  have  arrested  every 
mind  as  evidence  of  insincerity.      To  proclaim  the 


10  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

doctrine  of  self-denial  from  the  palace  of  luxury,  is  to 
court  defeat.  This  some  of  Christ's  professed  messen- 
gers do,  and  the  results  are  grief  to  the  pious,  jests  to 
the  sceptic,  and  scandal  to  religion;  and  to  have  com- 
menced a  life  of  poverty  and  suffering  amidst  the 
glittering  scenes  of  hollow  splendour,  would  have 
been  inconsistent  both  with  the  character  and  design 
of  Messiah's  advent. 

The  humble  circumstances  of  Christ's  birth  were 
in  harmony  with  his  experience  through  life.  He 
was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
He  had  no  where  to  lay  his  head.  His  associates 
were  poor.  His  disciples  were  fishermen.  His  fol- 
lowers, for  the  most  part,  were  the  labourers,  shep- 
herds, and  mechanics  of  Judea.  The  blind,  the  lame, 
the  deaf,  the  demoniac,  the  leper,  the  outcast,  the  beg- 
gar, found  in  him  an  accessible  friend.  In  the 
chamber  of  sickness,  in  the  abode  of  grief,  there 
was  Christ.  This  accorded  with  prophecy  regarding 
him.  "  The  Lord  doth  build  up  Jerusalem ;  he 
gathereth  together  the  outcasts  of  Israel.  He  healeth 
the  broken  in  heart,  and  bindeth  up  their  wounds." 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me ;  because 
the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings 
unto  the  meek;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the 
broken  hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives, 
and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound; 
to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ;  to  comfort  all  that 
mourn ;  to  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion, 
to  give  unto  them  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for 
mourning,  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness ;  that  they  might  be  called  trees  of  right- 


THE    MANGER.  11 

eousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord,  that  he  miglit  be 
glorified."  "  I,  the  Lord,  have  called  thee  in  right- 
eousness, and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep 
thee  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a 
Ught  of  the  Gentiles;  to  open  the  blind  eyes,  to 
bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison,  and  them 
that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the  prison  house." 
"  Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands,  and  confirm  the 
feeble  knees.  Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart, 
Be  strong,  fear  not;  behold  your  God  will  come  with 
vengeance,  even  God  with  a  recompense;  he  will 
come  and  save  you.  Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall 
be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  un- 
stopped. Then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart, 
and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing;  for  in  the  wilder- 
ness shall  waters  break  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert." 
"The  meek  also  shall  increase  their  joy  in  the  Lord, 
and  the  poor  among  men  shall  rejoice  in  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel."  -"^-^ 

These  prophecies  were  fulfilled  in  Christ,  as  every 
reader  of  the  evangelical  narrative  knows.  He  whom 
the  Bethlehem  shepherds  found  lying  in  a  manger, 
went  about  doing  good.  Disease  fled  at  his  approach; 
the  lame  leaped,  the  blind  saw,  the  deaf  heard,  the 
lepers  were  cleansed;  at  his  voice  the  demon  trembled, 
the  dead  rose  to  life,  and  the  tumultuous  ocean  slept 
like  a  sea  of  glass.  He  spake  and  it  was  done ;  he 
commanded  and  it  stood  fast.  Sickness  felt  the  pres- 
ence of  the  physician,  and  left  its  groaning  subject; 
death  heard  the  footsteps  of  its  destined  conqueror,  and 
abandoned  its  helpless  prey;  and  the  elements  of  na- 
ture listened  to  the  command  of  their  Creator,  and 
became  placid.    Notwithstanding  these  manifestations 


12  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

of  benevolence  and  supremacy,  the  life  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  one  of  suffering,  penury,  and  toil. 
"He  shall  grow  up  before  him,"  said  Isaiah,  "as  a 
tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground:  He 
hath  no  form  nor  comeliness;  and  when  we  shall  see 
him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him. 
He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we  hid  as  it  were  our 
faces  from  him;  he  was  despised  and  we  esteemed 
him  not."  To  this  description  also  the  record  per- 
fectly agrees.  "  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world 
was  made  by  him,  and  the  world  knew  him  not.  He 
came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not." 
"And  when  he  was  come  into  his  own  country,  he 
taught  them  in  their  synagogue,  insomuch  that  they 
were  astonished,  and  said.  Whence  hath  this  man  this 
wisdom,  and  these  mighty  works?  Is  not  this  the 
carpenter's  son?  is  not  his  mother  called  Mary?  and 
his  brethren,  James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and 
Judas?  And  his  sisters,  are  they  not  all  with  us? 
Whence  hath  this  man  all  these  things?  And  they 
were  offended  in  him."  "  The  Pharisees  said.  He 
casteth  out  devils  through  the  prince  of  the  devils." 
"  The  Son  of  Man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and 
they  say.  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  a  winebibber, 
a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners."  "And  all  they 
in  the  synagogue  were  filled  with  wrath,  and  rose 
up,  and  thrust  him  out  of  the  city,  and  led  him  unto 
the  brow  of  the  hill  whereon  their  city  was  built,  that 
they  might  cast  him  down  headlong."  "And  they 
watched  him,  and  sent  forth  spies,  who  should  feign 
themselves  just  men,  that  they  might  take  hold  of 
his  words,  that  so  they  might  deliver  him    to    the 


THE    MANGER.  13 

power  and  authority  of  the  governor."  "  Tlicn  as- 
sembled together  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes, 
and  the  elders  of  the  people,  unto  the  palace  of  the 
Iiigh  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas,  and  consulted 
that  they  might  take  Jesus  by  subtlety  and  kill  him." 
"  Then  did  they  spit  in  his  face,  and  buffeted  him ; 
and  others  smote  him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands." 
One  of  his  disciples  betrayed  him,  another  denied 
him,  and  the  rest  forsook  him  and  fled ;  and  the 
crown  of  thorns,  and  the  cross  of  Calvary  can  never 
be  forgotten.  Such,  then,  was  the  experience  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  world  for  whose  inhabitants  he 
died  ;  such  were  some  of  the  occurrences  in  the  life  of 
him  whom  to  know  is  eternal  life ;  and  such  are 
passages  in  the  extraordinary  history  of  him  whom 
the  shepherds  found  lying  in  a  manger. 

On  a  review  of  these  facts,  will  not  the  believer 
exclaim,  How  great  are  his  signs !  and  how  mighty 
are  his  wonders !  Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy 
works,  Lord  God  Almighty;  just  and  true  are  Thy 
ways,  thou  King  of  saints  !  0  Lord,  how  great  are 
Thy  works  !  and  Thy  thoughts  are  very  deep.  Who 
is  like  unto  Thee,  0  Lord,  among  the  gods  ?  Who 
is  like  Thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises, 
doing  wonders  ?  For  this  Jesus,  who  was  born  in  a 
stable  and  laid  in  a  manger,  has  been  by  the  right 
hand  of  God  exalted  far  above  all  principality,  and 
power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name 
that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that 
which  is  to  come.  All  things  are  put  under  his  feet. 
He  is  head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  which  is  his 
body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all.  He  is 
the  blessed  and  only  potentate,  the  King  of  kings  and 

2 


14  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

Lord  of  lords;  and  the  decree  has  gone  forth,  un- 
changeable as  the  character  of  him  who  made  it,  that 
the  nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  him  shall 
perish;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted. 
Amazing  contrast,  between  the  tenant  of  a  manger, 
and  the  sovereign  ruler  of  worlds !  Yet  the  purpose 
of  that  God,  who  evolves  grand  results  from  insignifi- 
cant beginnings,  shall  stand  for  ever.  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and  his  holy  One, 
to  him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him  whom  the  na- 
tion abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rulers,  kings  shall  see 
and  arise,  princes  also  shall  worship,  because  of  the 
Lord  that  is  faithful,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and 
he  shall  choose  thee."  The  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
that  arose  in  obscurity,  was  destined  to  shine  in  unri- 
valled and  ever  increasing  brightness  : 

" a  sun,  O  how  unlike 

The  babe  at  Bethlehem  !  how  unlike  the  man 

That  groaned  on  Calvary  ! — yet  he  it  is ; 

That  man  of  sorrows !  O  how  changed  I  What  pomp  ! 

In  grandeur  terrible,  all  heaven  descends; 

And  gods,  ambitious,  triumph  in  his  train ! 

A  swifl  archangel,  with  his  golden  wing, 

As  blots  and  clouds  that  darken  and  disgrace 

The  scene  divine,  sweeps  stars  and  suns  aside. 

And  now,  all  dross  removed,  heaven's  own  pure  day 

Full  on  the  confines  of  our  ether  flames." 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    SAGES. 

PHILOSOPHY    KNEELING    TO   CHRISTIANITY. 

The  following  facts  are  recorded  by  the  evangelist 
Mattliew. — "Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem 
of  Jiidea  ill  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold, 
there  came  wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 
saying,  where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews? 
for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come 
to  worship  him.  When  Herod  the  King  had  heard 
these  things,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem 
with  him.  And  when  he  had  gathered  all  the  chief 
priests  and  scribes  of  the  people  together,  he  de- 
manded of  them  where  Christ  should  be  born.  And 
they  said  unto  him,  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea:  for 
thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet,  And  thou  Beth- 
lehem, in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not  the  least  among 
the  princes  of  Juda;  for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a 
governor,  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel.  Then 
Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the  wise  men, 
inquired  of  them  diligently  what  time  the  star  ap- 
peared. And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said, 
go  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child;  and 
when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again, 
that  I  may  come  and  worship  him  also.  When 
they   had   heard   the   king,  they  departed;    and,  lo, 


16  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  hefore 
them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young 
child  was.  When  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced 
with  exceeding  great  joy.  And  when  they  were 
come  info  the  house,  they  saw  the  young  child  with 
Mary  his  mother,  and  fell  down  and  worshipped 
him;  and  when  they  had  opened  their  treasures, 
they  presented  unto  him  gifts;  gold,  and  frankin- 
cense, and  myrrh." 

Every  part  of  this  paragraph  is  instructive;  but 
the  prostration  of  the  "  wise  men"  before  the  infant 
Messiah  suggests  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  "  They 
fell  down  and  worshipped  him."  It  was  the  subor- 
dination of  wisdom  to  the  service  of  God.  It  was 
science  doing  reverence  to  revelation.  It  was  philo- 
sophy kneeling  before  Christianity.  The  position  is 
appropriate;  the  posture  is  becoming.  Philosophy 
acknowledges  herself  inferior  to  revelation,  offers 
service  on  her  knees,  and  lays  her  laurels  at  the  feet 
of  Christ.  She  begs  permission  to  become  a  disciple 
of  him  who  knew  all  things,  and  asks  further  illu- 
mination from  the  light  of  the  world.  She  has 
studied  the  constellations  of  heaven  for  ages;  but  in 
the  awful  depths  of  space  there  are  secrets  where  no 
ray  penetrates  to  guide  her  bewildered  thoughts,  and 
she  hails  with  rapture  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  This 
will  shed  light  on  regions  beyond  the  widest  range  of 
her  former  investigations,  and  reveal  the  glories  of 
the  immaterial  and  eternal.  This  will  guide  to  a 
haven  of  rest  after  ages  of  tossing  on  the  seas  of 
speculation;  and  her  gratitude  will  be  equal  to  her 
sense  of  safety.  This  is  no  exaggeration  of  her 
feelings : — 


THE    SAGES.  17 

"Now  safely  moored,  my  perils  o'er, 
I'll  sing,  first  in  night's  diadem, 
For  ever  and  for  evermore. 

The  Star— the  Star  of  Bethlehem!" 

She  had  long  assiduously  read  the  pages  of  crea- 
tion, but  questions  had  often  suggested  themselves 
regarding  which  these  pages  were  silent,  and  now 
she  bends  at  the  feet  of  the  incarnate  Creator  himself. 
There  she  will  find  a  key  to  the  mystery.  The 
enigma  will  be  solved.  The  difficulty  will  vanish. 
She  had  long  tried  experiments,  and  formed  theories, 
and  taxed  her  mighty  powers  to  account  for  visible 
phenomena;  but  Christianity  will  acquaint  her  with 
a  new  class  of  wonders,  place  before  her  an  object 
worthy  of  her  loftiest  ambition,  send  her  back  to 
her  pursuits  at  once  enlightened  and  humbled,  and 
teach  her  the  province  of  her  delegated  sceptre. 
Instead  of  finding  her  dominions  limited,  she  will 
find  them  expanded;  but  the  additional  territory 
being  a  grant,  and  not  the  result  of  conquest,  will 
ever  remind  her  that  she  is  accountable  to  the  Divine 
donor.  The  increase  of  her  wealth  is  an  increase  of 
responsibility.  "  It  is  required  in  stewards  that  a 
man  be  found  faithful."  She  will  not  appropriate  to 
herself  praise  for  her  discoveries.  She  will  give  to 
God  the  tithe  of  her  produce.  She  will  admire  the 
flower  as  heretofore;  but  she  will  remember  that  he 
arrays  it  in  glory.  She  will  speak  of  the  trees  of 
the  field;  but  she  will  remember  that  they  are  his 
planting.  She  will  think  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth 
and  the  fowls  of  the  air;  but  she  will  remember  that 
the  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  are  his,  and  that  the 
sparrow  falls  not  without  his  knowledge.     She  will 

2* 


IS  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH, 

examine  the  structure  of  the  human  body;  but  her 
exclamation  will  be,  "I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made."  The  exquisite  formation  of  the  eye  and  the 
ear  will  furnish  her  with  a  text;  but  the  inference 
from  her  discourse  will  be,  "  He  that  planted  the  ear, 
shall  he  not  hear?  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall 
he  not  see?"  She  will  reason  on  the  variegated 
scenery  of  the  earth;  but  she  will  not  forget  that 
"  He  weigheth  the  mountains  in  scales  and  the  hills 
in  a  balance."  She  will  think  about  the  mighty  em- 
pires of  the  world,  and  the  pomp  and  grandeur  that 
have  elicited  the  admiration  of  mankind;  but  she 
will  be  chastened  by  the  recollection  that  "all  na- 
tions before  him  are  as  nothing;  and  they  are 
counted  to  him  as  less  than  nothing,  and  vanity." 
She  will  describe  the  orbits  of  planets,  and  gaze  on 
the  magnificent  canopy  of  heaven;  but  she  will  also 
think  of  him  "  who  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the 
earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  as  grasshop- 
pers; who  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain, 
and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in."  She 
will  dwell  on  the  theory  of  the  seasons;  but  she  will 
be  humbled  by  the  questions — "  Canst  thou  bind  the 
sweet  influences  of  Pleiades,  or  loose  the  bands  of 
Orion?  Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his 
season?  Or  canst  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons?" 
She  will  cast  her  eye  over 

-The  midnight  pomp, 


The  gorgeous  arch,  with  golden  worlds  inlaid," 

and  remember  that  "He  made  the  stars  also." 
Their  astonishing  numbers  will  fill  her  with  admi- 
lation,  which  will  be  increased  by  the  remembrance 


THE    SAGES.  19 

that  "  He  calletli  them  all  by  their  names."  She 
will  stand  as  if  entranced  in  meditation  on  these 
brilliant  "  worlds  on  worlds,"  nntil  the  question  es- 
capes, "  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of 
him  ?  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him." 
She  will  listen  to  the  roaring  thunder,  and  remember 
that  "  the  voice  of  the  Lord  shaketh  the  wilderness," 
and  she  will  watch  the  movements  of  the  electric 
flash,  and  consider  that  he  maketh  "  a  way  for  the 
lightning." 

Or,  if  philosophy  turn  her  attention  from  the  visi- 
ble to  the  metaphysical,  here,  too,  she  will  be  aided 
in  her  studies  by  kneeling  to  Christianity.  She  will 
find  that  "  God  gives  wisdom  and  understanding," 
that  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom," that  "the  spirit  of  man  is  the  candle  of  the 
Lord,"  and  that  all  mental  powers,  and  all  the  faci- 
lities given  for  their  expansion,  and  all  the  opportu- 
nities given  for  their  application,  are  from  that  God 
from  whom  "  cometh  down  every  good  and  perfect 
gift."  But  the  philosophy  that  scorns  revelation,  is 
a  body  without  a  soul.  It  is  a  galvanized  corpse. 
It  is  a  deceiver  and  an  anti-christ.  And  when  it  puts 
on  the  guise  of  reverence  for  the  religion  it  despises, 
it  is  that  it  may  more  efiectually  poison  the  well- 
springs  of  life,  and  appropriate  to  itself  the  honoiu* 
due  to  its  divine  opponent.  When  infidel  philoso- 
phy, professing  to  have  been  baptized  by  the  be- 
nevolent spirit  of  the  Gospel,  appears  among  men, 
its  success  in  doing  evil  is  generally  in  proportion  to 
the  perfection  of  its  hypocrisy.  The  disclaimers  of 
hostility  to  the  Gospel,  which  are  repeated  with  of- 
fensive frequency,  are  among  the  certain  proofs  of 


20  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

its  secret  dislike ;  and  its  reiterated  professions  of 
supreme  attachment  to  truth — by  which  it  means  its 
own  prelections — are  baits  by  which  it  attracts  the 
superficial,  and  the  sciolist.  Several  specimens  of 
this  so-called  philosophy,  have  of  late  years  issued 
from  the  British  press ;  these  books  have  been  pa- 
tronised and  praised  chiefly  by  parties  whose  pro- 
fessed sympathy  with  the  sufferings  of  mankind  em- 
bodies itself  in  finding  fault  with  Christian  eff"orts  to 
do  good,  and  by  those  whose  restless  spirits,  having 
no  fixed  principles  of  faith,  are  ever  on  the  search 
for  novelty;  but  the  diff"usion  of  mere  speculation, 
or  of  baseless  theories  propounded  with  all  the  assu- 
rance of  ascertained  facts,  though  it  may  tend  for  a 
time  to  thicken  the  mental  fogs  in  which  many  are 
enveloped,  will  eventually  work  its  own  cure.  For 
as  no  final  resting-place  can  be  found  in  that  which 
is  essentially  fallacious,  so  the  mind  which  after  a 
time  discovers  that  it  has  been  deluded  by  a  fallacy, 
will  become  suspicious  of  the  approach  of  any  new 
candidate  for  its  suff'rages,  who  cannot  at  the  outset 
produce  vouchers  for  his  fidelity.  Evidence  of  this 
kind  will  be  demanded.  The  philosophy  that  would 
undermine  Christiaiiity,  cannot  produce  it;  for  as 
truth  in  all  its  departments  is  essentially  one,  and  as 
Christianity  is  the  revelation  of  truth,  it  follows  that 
the  philosophy  which  promulges  theories  opposed 
to  Christianity  must  be  false.  Christianity  is  ready 
to  furnish  the  proofs  of  her  divinity.  She  courts 
inspection.  She  demands  investigation.  Her  wit- 
nesses are  prepared.  They  come  from  every  region 
of  the  globe,  from  every  age  of  the  world,  and  from 
every  class  of  men.      They   are   found  in  fulfilled 


THE    SAGES.  21 

prophecy,  attested  miracles,  constant  conversions  from 
sin  to  holiness,  the  adaptation  of  the  gospel  to  the 
felt  necessities  of  men;  and  in  those  exhibitions  of 
the  character  and  government  of  the  invisible  God 
which  the  gospel  gives,  and  which,  f?^om  their  very 
nature,  are  utterly  beyond  the  unaided  conceptions 
of  the  human  mind.  It  is  impossible  to  account  for 
innumerable  statements  in  the  Bible  on  any  other 
principle  than  that  which  itself  furnishes,  namely — 
"  Holy  men  of  God,"  in  making  those  statements, 
"  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
"All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God."  The 
bad  could  not,  the  good  would  not,  invent  "a  cun- 
ningly devised  fable,"  and  call  it  inspired.  But 
neither  bad  nor  good  ever  possessed  an  imagination 
equal  to  the  task  of  producing  such  history,  such 
doctrine,  such  precept,  and  such  revelation,  as  are 
found  in  the  Bible.  The  philosophy,  therefore,  which 
Avill  not  kneel  to  Christianity,  must  tend  to  the  crea- 
tion of  principles  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  men. 

But  the  provinces  of  philosophy  and  Christianity 
are  distinct.  The  former  has  to  do  with  natural  re- 
ligion, the  latter  with  supernatural.  The  former 
treats  of  the  visible  world,  the  latter  of  the  invisible. 
The  former  regards  mind  as  such,  the  latter  regards 
it  as  fallen  and  redeemed.  The  former  is  circum- 
scribed by  time,  the  latter  comprehends  eternity. 
But  difference  of  province  does  not  involve  antago- 
nism in  principle.  The  recognition  of  this  truth  is 
important.  It  indicates  the  character  which  true 
philosophy  will  bear.  The  Christian  philosopher, 
knowing  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  un- 
changeably true,  will  not  propound  theories  subver- 


22  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

sive  of  those  doctrines.  For  irrespective  of  his 
reverence  for  the  Bible,  as  containing  a  Divine  re- 
velation, he  will  feel  that  however  plausible  such 
theories  might  be  in  the  absence  of  clearer  light,  the 
fact  of  their  opposition  to  statements  which  are  un- 
doubtedly inspired,  stamps  them  with  error.  Such 
theories  may  appear  sound.  They  may  be  evolved 
from  frequent  and  careful  experiments.  He  may 
not  be  able  to  detect  a  flaw  in  the  process  by  which 
he  arrived  at  them.  But  he  is  sure  that  there  cannot 
be  in  the  universe  two  contradictory  truths;  and  he 
will  surrender  his  theory,  conscious  of  his  own  falli- 
bility, and  receive  with  gratitude  infallible  teaching. 
He  has  worshipped  Christ;  and  he  will  not  dethrone 
him  to  make  room  for  an  idol  of  his  own.  By  the 
progress  of  science  and  further  investigation,  he  will 
discover  that  his  theory  ivas  wrong:  thus  philosophy 
herself  reaps  the  advantage  of  kneeling  to  Chris- 
tianity. The  provinces  of  the  two  systems  are  still 
kept  distinct,  but  their  results  clash  not.  There  is 
no  collision.  The  greater  and  the  lesser  light  shine 
in  harmony.  The  sun  and  the  moon  are  in  the  same 
firmament.  Both  show  the  works  of  God;  but  the 
latter  borrows  her  light  from  the  former,  the  former 
has  his  from  God  himself. 

Christianity  is  the  highest  kind  of  philosophy.  It 
is  the  offspring  of  Divine  wisdom;  "the  wisdom  of 
God  in  a  mystery."  The  philosophy  of  men  was 
utterly  unable  to  answer  the  most  important  questions 
which  could  be  proposed.  To  the  all  important  in- 
quiry, what  is  the  character  of  the  Being  with  whom 
we  have  to  do?  she  could  return  no  answer.  Athens, 
the  unrivalled  seat  and  centre  of  philosophy,  publicly 


THE    SAGES.  "23 

confessed  it.  She  erected  an  altar  "  to  the  un- 
known God."  But  Christianity  arose  full  of  ma- 
jesty, wisdom,  and  mercy.  The  light  she  shed  upon 
the  nations  was  new  and  wonderful.  All  who  came 
within  the  influence  of  her  beams  were  astonished. 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  was  the  testimony 
of  his  hearers  regarding  the  Divine  Author  of  Chris- 
tianity. He  published  truths  such  as  had  never 
suggested  themselves  to  the  minds  of  men  :  study 
could  not  find  them,  thought  could  not  discover 
them.  That  knowledge  which  should  fully  compre- 
hend the  character  and  necessities  of  man  as  a  sinful 
being,  and  furnish  a  remedy  for  his  wants  and  woes, 
was  too  high  for  human  philosophy.  She  could  not 
reach  it.  But  the  wisdom  of  God  does.  Inspiration 
tells  man  what  he  was,  what  he  is,  and  what  he  is 
destined  to  become.  His  original  happiness  and  its 
cause,  his  present  wretchedness  and  its  cause,  the 
mode  by  which  he  can  be  delivered  from  this  wretch- 
edness, and  the  source  of  his  redemption,  are  all 
clearly  announced.  There  is  no  faltering,  no  doubt, 
every  statement  is  a  fact,  every  declaration  a  cer- 
tainty, every  purpose  immutable.  There  is  no  ex- 
periment ;  for  the  whole  system  is  the  result  of  infi- 
nite wisdom,  harmoniously  acting  with  infinite  mercy 
and  justice.  It  is  revelation,  not  mere  theory ;  it  is 
purpose,  decree,  law. 

The  gospel  is  law.  It  enacts  salvation  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved," 
certainly,  finally,  saved.  But  it  is  law  springing 
from  love.  It  is  not  law  made  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  creature  as  such;  but  for  the  redemption 
of  the  creature  from  the  captivity  of  sin,  and  the 


24  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

removal'  of  the  penalty  attached  to  transgression, 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  belie veth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  It  is  implied 
that  but  for  this  manifestation  of  Divine  love,  all 
would  have  perished;  and  justly  so,  for  "all  have 
sinned;"  but  it  is  also  implied  that,  notwithstanding 
this  manifestation  of  Divine  love,  those  who  refuse 
to  avail  themselves  of  its  provisions  shall  perish. 
"  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Con- 
demnation is  due  to  all  men  because  of  sin.  This  is 
the  penalty  attached  to  the  law  of  government;  but 
non-compliance  with  the  laic  of  grace,  which  com- 
mands faith  and  promises  life,  is  a  fearful  aggra- 
vation of  guilt,  consequently,  the  rejection  of  Christ, 
whilst  it  inevitably  extinguishes  every  ray  of  hope  to 
the  criminal,  increases  the  awful  circumstances  of  his 
condenmation.  "  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  that  city"  which  rejects  the  gospel. 
"  This  is  the  condemnation;  that  light  is  come  into 
the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light, 
because  their  deeds  were  evil."  Hence  Simeon  said 
of  him  before  whom  the  wise  men  fell  down,  "  Be- 
hold this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel."  His  doctrine  is  the  savour  of  death 
unto  death,  or  of  life  unto  life.  This  arises  from  its 
perfection.  It  is  "  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life"  to 
the  believer.  The  man  whom  the  Son  makes  free  is 
"free  indeed."  He  that  believeth  on  him,  is  not 
condemned:  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God." 


THE    SAGES.  25 

And  in  accordance  with  the  perfection  of  its  cha- 
racter, the  gospel  is  exclusively  the  system  of  re- 
demption. It  admits  no  rival.  It  stands  absolutely 
alone  among  fallen  men,  as  the  record  of  God's 
mercy  through  the  death  of  Christ.  "To  him  give 
all  the  prophets  witness,  that  through  his  name  who- 
soever believeth  in  him,  shall  receive  remission  of 
sins."  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other:  for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  Divine  love  re- 
quired a  mode  of  manifestation.  Its  desire  is  gra- 
tified through  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  the 
Son  of  God.  There  was  no  need  for  any  other  me- 
dium by  which  to  communicate  itself  to  men.  Its 
breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height,  pass 
knowledge;  but  it  has  ample  scope  for  its  glorious 
outgoings  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ; 
for  "  He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  him."  To  save  is  the  grand  de- 
sign of  this  divine  system ;  and  it  embodies  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  from  the  well-ascertained  fact  that  there 
is  not  a  single  arrangement  wanting  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  its  purpose.  Man  is  guilty,  it  pardons 
him; — condemned,  it  justifies  him; — carnal,  it  rege- 
nerates him; — an  outcast,  it  adopts  him; — an  alien,  it 
reconciles  him; — ignorant,  it  instructs  him; — polluted, 
it  sanctifies  him : — all  these  arrangements  are  made 
with  obvious  reference  to  the  state  of  man  as  a  fallen 
and,  Mere/ore,  helpless  creature ;  and  all  these  bless- 
ings, the  result  of  Christ's  mediation,  are  conveyed 
to  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  glorious  office 
the  Redeemer  thus  indicates:  "He  shall  glorify  me: 
for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 

3 


26  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

you."  We  have  said,  fallen  and  therefore  helpless; 
for  self-restoration  from  sin  appears  a  settled  impos- 
sibility. The  reason  is  obvious;  sin  is  the  breach  of 
law;  to  the  breach  of  law  there  is  attached  penalty; 
that  penalty  is  not  measured  by  the  circumstances  of 
the  creature,  but  by  the  purity  of  the  law  and  the 
claims  of  the  law-giver;  in  this  case  the  law  is  infi- 
nitely holy,  and  the  claims  of  the  law-giver  are  ab- 
solute; the  endurance  of  the  penalty,  therefore,  in- 
volves the  destruction  of  the  transgressor.  Such 
being  the  case,  self-restoration  is  impossible.  But 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  vicarious.  He  endured 
the  penalty  awarded  to  sin.  "  He  died  for  us." 
Hence  the  glorious  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  "  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
made  a  curse  for  us;  and  hence  the  ground  on 
which  restoration  is  effected,  salvation  offered,  the 
sinner  pardoned  and  saved,  and  God  glorified.  It  is 
thus  summed  up  by  inspiration:  "Being  justified 
freely  by  his  grace  through  the  redemption  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus:  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a 
propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare 
his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are 
past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God;  to  declare,  I 
say,  at  this  time,  his  righteousness:  that  he  might 
be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  who  believeth  in 
Jesus."  A  system  of  mercy  so  complete  and  glorious 
admits  no  rival. 

And  its  success  in  accomplishing  the  end  proposed 
has  shown,  that  its  original  profession  of  perfect 
adaptation  to  that  end  was  fully  warranted.  Per- 
fection was  its  character  at  first ;  and  many  myriads 
of  redeemed  men  stand  ready  to  prove  its  claim  to 


THE    SAGES.  27 

universal  credence.  Deeply  rooted  prejudices  give 
way  before  it;  pagan  systems  shrink  at  the  flash  of 
its  eye ;  hoary  creeds  relax  their  clammy  gripe  on 
the  human  understanding;  superstition  trembles  in 
her  dark  den;  many  a  costly  temple  of  idolatry  is 
laid  in  ruins;  desolation  occupies  the  shrine  of  the 
sanguinary  idol;  the  cruel  rites  of  barbarism  have 
fled;  the  despot's  arm  has  been  broken;  the  war 
image  trembles  on  its  rending  pedestal;  the  strong- 
holds of  Satan  have  been  shattered;  and  a  multitude 
that  no  man  can  number  have  already  exchanged  the 
sorrows  of  mortality  for  a  dwelling  place  in  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  his  Christ.  All  this  has  been  eff'ected 
by  the  instrumentality  of  that  gospel  which  is  "  tlie 
wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery."  Such  a  system  is 
worthy  of  "  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the 
only  wise  God  V 

Now,  what  could  human  philosophy  do  in  this 
vast  region  of  thought?  What  could  created  mind 
do,  were  an  answer  demanded  from  it  to  the  inquiry, 
"How  can  man  be  justified  with  God?  Or  how 
can  he  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a  woman?"  The 
energies  of  all  the  minds  that  ever  thought  on 
earth,  if  unaided  by  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God, 
would  have  been  taxed  in  vain  for  a  reply.  The 
rescue  of  man  from  sin  and  punishment,  consistently 
with  the  glory  and  holiness  of  God,  is  a  problem 
high  as  the  third  heavens,  and  the  most  ethereal 
efforts  of  the  most  gigantic  philosophy  could  never 
solve  it.  God  himself  has  solved  it.  The  Bible 
contains  the  wonderful  solution.  Christianity  em- 
bodies it.  Let  philosophy  kneel  and  own  her  su- 
perior. 


28  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

But  does  Christianity  prohibit  the  labour  of  phi 
losophy  ?  Does  she  frown  upon  it  ?  Does  she  spurn 
it  from  her  footstool?  Does  she  allow  it  no  place 
on  the  platform  of  thought  ?  Not  so !  Far  from  it. 
The  reverse  is  true ;  and  the  advocate  of  Christianity, 
who  would  extinguish  the  light  of  philosophy,  and 
cast  out  her  name  as  evil,  dishonours  the  system  of 
which  he  is  the  advocate,  and  creates  an  additional 
barrier,  already  alas!  too  numerous,  to  the  diffusion 
of  the  purest  and  most  benign  system  of  truth  of  which 
the  world  has  ever  heard.  If  there  be  any  influence 
within  the  reach  of  thought  that  tends  to  expand 
mind,  to  invigorate  intellect,  and  to  induce  examina- 
tion into  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  it  is  the  in- 
fluence which  springs  from  a  cordial  reception  of  the 
gospel  as  the  testimony  of  God  regarding  his  Son. 
Faith  in  Christ  makes  men  thinkers.  It  rebukes 
mental  indolence.  It  promotes  inquiry.  It  sanctifies 
study.  It  dignifies  the  student.  It  ennobles  the  phi- 
losopher. And  he  who  knows  most  of  the  glorious 
gospel,  other  things  being  equal,  will  be  the  best  ex- 
ponent of  the  essential  qualities  and  regulating  laws 
both  of  matter  and  of  mind.  Moreover,  he  will  have 
an  inducement  of  a  higher  class  than  the  sceptic  feels, 
for  investigating  those  qualities  and  laws.  He  will 
find  elaborations  of  the  Divine  wisdom,  power,  and 
benevolence  in  everything.  The  grass  blade,  the 
flower,  the  pebble:  the  dewdrop,  the  rill,  the  ocean  ; 
the  comet,  the  planet,  the  sun;  the  reptile,  the  insect, 
the  fowl;  matter,  life,  and  reason ;  each,  all,  will  open 
pages  of  glorious  thought  regarding  him  who  is  won- 
derful in  working.     He  will 

"  Rise  firom  Nature,  up  to  Nature's  God." 


THE    SAGES.  29 

He  will  echo  the  sentiment  of  the  Hebrew  poet,  "The 
works  of  the  Lord  are  great,  sought  out  of  all  thcni 
that  have  pleasure  therein."  He  will  subserve  the 
good  of  the  creature  and  the  glory  of  the  Creator  by 
his  patient  investigation  of  the  inexhaustible  treasures 
of  creation;  and  he  will  furnish  the  crowning  evi- 
dence that  he  is  a  true  philosopher,  by  imitating 
the  sages  of  the  east,  who,  after  worshipping  Christ, 
opened  their  treasures  and  poured  them  at  his  feet. 


3* 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    MIDNIGHT     FLIGHT. 

TYRANNY    FRUSTHATED. 

It  is  "a  vain  thing"  to  oppose  the  purposes  of  the 
Most  High.  It  is  folly  and  impiety.  It  is  sure  to 
end  in  disaster,  and  to  cover  the  wretch  who  attempts 
it  with  ignominy.  "Woe  unto  him  that  striveth 
with  his  Maker !  Let  the  potsherds  strive  with  the 
potsherds  of  the  earth."  But  the  opposition  raised 
by  the  creature  against  the  Creator,  the  thing  of 
yesterday  against  the  Ancient  of  Days,  the  child  of 
dust  against  Omnipotence,  is,  if  it  were  not  rebellion 
in  the  last  degree,  moral  insanity  in  the  last  stage. 
It  is  related  by  Matthew  that,  "  when  they,"  the 
wise  men,  "  were  departed,  behold,  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying.  Arise, 
and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  flee 
into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  until  I  bring  thee 
word;  for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  des- 
troy him.  When  he  arose,  he  took  the  young  child 
and  his  mother  by  night,  and  departed  into  Egypt; 
and  was  there  until  the  death  of  Herod  :  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by 
the  prophet,  saying,  "  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my 
son."  Doddridge  says :  "  When  the  wise  men  had 
come  so  far  to  pay  their  homage  to  a  new-born  prince, 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  31 

the  several  reports  of  what  had  lately  happened 
would  upon  this  occasion,  be  revived,  and  tlie  be- 
haviour of  two  such  celebrated  persons  as  Simeon 
and  Anna,  on  the  presentation  of  Christ  in  the 
temple,  which  might  at  first  be  only  taken  notice  of 
by  a  few  pious  persons,  would  probably  be  now  re- 
ported to  Herod,  and  must  add  to  the  alarm  which 
the  inquiry  of  the  sages  gave  him."  Had  we  no 
fuller  account  of  the  character  of  Herod  than  that 
given  by  the  inspired  writers,  they  have  said  enough 
to  convince  us  that  he  was  a  most  infamous  man,  a 
cruel  tyrant.  His  purpose  to  destroy  Jesus,  not- 
withstanding that  the  information  given  him  by  the 
priests  and  scribes,  that  prophecy  had  fixed  on  Beth- 
lehem as  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  the  intelligence 
brought  by  the  wise  men  of  the  wonderful  events 
connected  therewith,  must  have  convinced  him  that 
such  a  purpose  involved  opposition  to  the  designs  of 
the  Most  High,  proves  that  he  was  utterly  destitute 
of  the  fear  of  God ;  and  the  massacre  of  the  Beth- 
lehem children  affords  melancholy  evidence  of  the 
odious  cruelty  of  his  nature.  Such  atrocious  con- 
duct must  for  ever  hold  him  up  to  the  detestation  of 
every  mind  possessing  a  spark  of  common  humanity. 
But  it  is  not  from  the  inspired  pages  alone,  that  we 
derive  our  impression  of  his  character.  The  cele- 
brated Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  has  recorded  con- 
cerning him  that  he  was  a  man  of  the  greatest  bar- 
barity, and  a  slave  to  his  passions.  He  executed  his 
wife  Mariamne,  for  whom  he  professed  the  greatest 
regard,  and  two  sons  whom  she  had  borne  him ;  he 
caused  his  son  Antipater  to  be  slain  in  prison ;  and 
when  drawing  near  his  dreadful  death,  the  particu- 


33  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

lars  of  wliich  are  related  by  Josephus,  aware  that 
the  people  would  rejoice  to  be  rid  of  such  a  tyrant, 
"he  commanded  that  all  the  principal  men  of  the 
entire  Jewish  nation,  wheresoever  they  lived,  should 
be  called  to  him.  Accordingly,  there  were  a  great 
number  that  came,  because  the  whole  nation  was 
called,  and  all  men  heard  of  this  call,  and  death  was 
the  penalty  of  such  as  should  despise  the  epistles 
that  were  sent  to  call  them.  And  now  the  king  was 
in  a  wild  rage  against  them  all,  the  innocent  as  well 
as  those  that  had  afforded  him  ground  for  accusations; 
and  when  they  were  come,  he  ordered  them  all  to  be 
shut  up  in  the  hippodrome,  and  sent  for  his  sister 
Salome,  and  her  husband  Alexas,"  and  told  them 
that  what  chiefly  grieved  him  was,  that  he  should 
"die  without  being  lamented,  and  without  such 
mourning  as  men  usually  expected  at  a  king's  death.'* 
He  desired  therefore  that,  as  soon  as  his  death  took 
place,  the  multitude  of  Jews  that  were  shut  up  in 
the  hippodrome  should  be  slaughtered,  so  that  he 
might  have  "  the  honour  of  a  memorable  mourning 
at  his  funeral."  Josephus  adds,  "  Now  any  one  may 
easily  discover  the  temper  of  this  man's  mind,  which 
not  only  took  pleasure  in  doing  what  he  had  done 
formerly  against  his  relations,  out  of  the  love  of  life, 
but  by  those  commands  of  his  which  savoured  of  no 
humanity;  since  he  took  care,  when  he  was  depart- 
ing out  of  this  life,  that  the  whole  nation  should  be 
put  into  mourning,  and  indeed  made  desolate  of 
their  dearest  kindred,  when  he  gave  order  that  one 
out  of  every  family  should  be  slain,  although  they 
had  done  nothing  that  was  unjust,  or  against  him, 
nor  were  they  accused  of  any  other  crimes ;  while  it 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  33 

is  usual  for  tIios3  who  have  any  regard  to  virtue,  to 
lay  aside  their  hatred  at  such  a  time,  even  with  respect 
to  those  they  justly  esteemed  their  enemies." 

Such  was  the  man  whose  mahgnant  spirit  enter- 
tained the  idea  of  murdering  the  infant  Messiah. 
Thus  early  in  life  was  man's  Redeemer  exposed  to 
the  fury  of  diabolic  agency.  But  the  destruction  of 
Christ  was  not  permitted.  He  had  a  work  to  do,  the 
completion  of  which  should  realize  the  anticipation 
of  the  angelic  song,  by  securing  glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  and  good  will  to  men; 
and  the  same  infallible  spirit  of  prophecy  which  had 
fixed  Bethlehem  as  his  birth-place,  had  announced 
that  he  should  '■'■  not  faiV^  in  the  accomplishment  of 
his  work.  A  greater  than  Herod  rules  over  the 
kingdoms  of  earth.  The  decree  had  gone  forth,  "I 
have  set  my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion." 
Agencies  of  the  most  opposite  kind  are  seen  actively 
at  work  at  every  stage  of  Messiah's  progress.  An 
infatuated  prince,  the  emissary  of  hell,  seeks  to 
crush  in  the  bud  the  glorious  prospects  of  a  ruined 
world,  and  to  defeat  the  declared  designs  of  the 
everlasting  God.  The  angels  of  heaven,  the  mes- 
sengers of  love,  had  recently  enraptured  the  lowly 
shepherds,  as  they  "  sat  simply  chatting  in  a  rustic 
row,"  with 

"Such  music  (as  'lis  said) 
Before  was  never  made, 

But  when  of  old  the  sons  of  morning  sung, 
While  the  Creator  great 
His  constellations  set. 

And  the  well-balanced  world  on  hinges  hung, 
And  cast  the  dark  foundations  deep. 
And  bid  the  weltering  waves  their  oozy  channels  keep;" 


34  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

and  now,  one  of  them  is  despatched  from  his 
heavenly  throne  to  the  humble  couch  of  Joseph, 
with  this  short  but  comprehensive  command,  "Arise, 
and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  flee 
into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  tmtil  I  bring  thee 
word;  for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  de- 
stroy him."  It  was  enough.  Obedience  is  better 
than  sacrifice.  Like  Paul,  Joseph  "  was  not  disobe- 
dient to  the  heavenly  vision."  He  is  honoured  to 
be  the  earthly  guardian  of  the  child  Jesus;  but  he 
has  an  Almighty  guardian  too,  for  an  eye  that  never 
sleeps,  and  that  commands  a  view  of  the  universe  at 
a  glance,  is  constantly  upon  him  for  good.  The 
heart  of  Herod  lies  open  to  the  inspection  of  Jeho- 
vah; and  those  angels,  who  minister  to  the  heirs  of 
salvation,  are  joyously  ready  to  minister  to  the  Au- 
thor of  salvation.  The  good  man  receives,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  one  of  them,  the  command  to 
depart,  and  he  obeys.  Little  preparation  is  neces- 
sary. There  is  no  costly  arrangement  for  the  pro- 
cession of  the  infant  Prince,  although  he  is  King  of 
kings.  There  are  no  heralds  sent  to  announce  his 
arrival  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs ;  there  is  no  caval- 
cade; there  is  no  retinue;  all  is  sublimely  simple; 
it  is  the  flight  of  the  Son  of  God,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  his  Father.  He  flees  from  the  land  of  his 
birth,  of  which  he  is  the  rightful  King,  and  which 
was  destined  to  become,  ere  long,  the  scene  of  his 
unrivalled  teachings,  unequalled  sufferings,  and  ama- 
zing victory  by  death  over  sin  and  death ;  and  the 
providence  of  God,  ever  watchful,  had  anticipated 
the  necessities  of  Joseph  and  Mary  in  this  flight, 
and  during  their  sojourn  in  a  foreign  land,  by  the 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  35 

gold  which  the  eastern  sages  laid  at  the  feet  of  Christ. 
Vain,  therefore,  are  the  purposes  of  Herod,  or  of  any 
combination  of  earthly  princes,  to  interrupt  the  career 
of  Messiah. 

"  He  shall  ascend 
The  throne  hereditary,  and  bound  his  reign 
With  earth's  wide  bounds,  his  glory  with  the  heavens." 

The  history  of  Christianity,  from  its  manger-cradle 
to  the  present  moment,  is  the  best  commentary  any 
where  to  be  found  on  the  doctrine  of  divine  pro- 
vidence. That  history  now  covers  a  period  of 
eighteen  centuries  and  a  half  It  begins  with  the 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  germ  of  that 
mighty  system,  which  has  been  heard  of  with  more 
or  less  distinctness  by  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  which  claims  for  its  author  the  homage  of  all 
mankind,  must  be  sought  for  in  the  heart  of  the  babe 
of  Bethlehem.  There  it  was,  and  thence  it  sprung 
to  cover  the  nations  with  its  healing  leaves,  and  to 
save  them  by  its  heavenly  fruit,  the  antidote  of  that 
which  was  forbidden,  but  plucked,  in  paradise. 
There  it  was,  a  divine  gem,  in  a  divine  casket,  and 
thence  its  rays  diverged  to  illumine  a  world  of  im- 
mortal minds,  grovelUng  under  the  despotic  sway  of 
the  prince  of  darkness.  There  it  was,  the  well- 
spring  of  salvation,  and  thence  its  waters  gushed  to 
form  the  river  of  life  which  has  been  rolling  on, 
accumulating  force,  and  increasing  in  breadth  and 
depth  ever  since,  and  will  continue  so  to  roll,  and 
so  to  swell,  until  it  shall  have  borne  the  countless 
multitudes  of  the  redeemed  on  its  glorious  breast,  to 
the  shores  of  that  kingdom  which  is  eternal  in  the 


36  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

heavens.  Many  efforts  were  put  forth  during  the 
life  of  Christ  on  earth,  from  his  childhood  to  the 
cross,  to  crush  this  germ,  to  sully  this  gem,  and  to 
stop  this  fountain.  Why  were  they  not  successful? 
God's  providence,  subserving  God's  gracious  pur- 
poses towards  the  human  race,  furnishes  the  answer. 
Elsewhere  it  is  not  to  be  found.  "  God  worketh 
hitherto ;"  and  the  preservation  of  Christianity  is 
the  proof.  Every  facility  for  success,  in  the  efforts 
to  which  we  have  alluded,  was  possessed  by  those 
who  made  them,  that  is,  every  facility  on  which  the 
world  reckons  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  purposes. 
They  were  made  by  the  influential,  the  rulers,  the 
priests,  the  Sanhedrim.  They  had  wealth,  and  they 
had  unscrupulous  dependents,  parasites  without  con- 
science, ready  to  receive  the  wages  of  perjury  if  it 
was  offered:  it  was  offered  and  accepted;  and  false 
witnesses  struggled  to  realize  the  design  on  which 
the  hearts  of  their  guilty  employers  were  set,  the 
destruction  of  Christ,  and  with  him,  his  doctrine. 
And  if  one  agent  more  seemed  necessary,  they  found 
him  among  the  twelve;  one  of  this  little  company 
held  out  his  hand  for  a  bribe  :  "  What  will  ye  give 
me,"  said  he  to  the  chief  priests,  "and  I  will  deliver 
him  unto  you?  And  they  covenanted  with  him  for 
thirty  pieces  of  silver."  Noio  they  seemed  suc- 
cessful ;  but  the  moment  of  seeming  triumph  was 
the  moment  of  real  defeat.  His  hour  was  come; 
his  work  was  on  the  eve  of  its  glorious  accomplish- 
ment; otherwise  their  plans  would  have  been  de- 
feated again;  but  the  success  on  which  they  now 
congratulated  themselves,  was,  in  reality,  the  des- 
truction of  all  their   designs.      Instead  of  realizing 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  37 

victory,  the  issue  of  the  secret  consultation,  the 
stratagem,  and  the  bribe,  was  infamy  to  themselves; 
they  purchased  everlasting  disgrace.  It  is  the  inhe- 
ritance for  which  they  paid.  Alas!  it  has  been  to 
the  Jewish  nation  a  sad  inheritance,  a  legacy  of 
weariness,  gloom,  and  death ! 

Tyranny  was  frustrated  by  an  invisible  hand, 
during  the  life  of  Christ;  and  when  at  his  death  it 
seemed  to  triumph,  it  was  only  acting  a  subordinate 
part  in  the  fulfilment  of  predictions,  the  ultimate 
accomplishment  of  which  in  their  full  extent,  will 
sweep  it  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  thought  of 
crushing  the  truth  that  tormented  its  guilty  conscience, 
but  itself  was  a  slave  chained  to  the  Redeemer's 
chariot  wheels,  a  few  more  revolutions  of  which  will 
grind  it  to  powder.  It  helped  the  work  it  had  hoped 
to  hinder;  but  as  God  acknowledges  only  voluntary 
services,  it  has  been  punished  for  its  purposes  as 
though  they  had  been  realized  to  its  own  satisfaction, 
and  its  involuntary  services  form  an  item  in  its  dis- 
grace, and  an  aggravation  of  its  punishment.  Free 
agency  and  accountability  must  be  maintained  or 
abandoned  together.  "The  Son  of  Man  goeth  as  it 
is  written  of  him,  but  woe  unto  that  man  by  whom 
the  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed!  it  had  been  good  for 
that  man  if  he  had  not  been  born."  Doddridge's 
paraphrase  throws  an  apposite  light  on  this  passage: 
"The  Son  of  Man,  great  and  powerful  as  he  will 
finally  appear,  is  indeed  going  to  sufferings  and 
death,  as  it  is  written  in  the  Scriptures,  and  deter- 
mined in  the  divine  counsels  concerning  him;  but  as 
those  prophecies  and  counsels  have  no  influence  to 
destroy  the  free  agency  of  the  persons  concerned  in 
4 


38  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

his  death,  so  there  will  be  a  most  terrible  woe  to 
that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  Man  is  so  perfidiously 
betrayed,  and  who  presumes  to  set  a  price  on  his 
royal  and  sacred  blood:  it  had  been  well  for  that 
man  if  he  had  never  been  born,  for  a  speedy  and 
most  dreadful  vengeance  awaits  him,  which  will  make 
the  immortality  of  his  being  his  everlasting  curse." 
Prediction  does  not  necessitate  human  conduct ;  but 
the  omniscient  God,  foreseeing  those  crimes  of  which 
man  would  become  the  voluntary  perpetrator,  was 
pleased  by  the  agency  of  his  prophets  beforehand,  to 
call  attention  to  some  of  them;  and  thus  their  com- 
mission forms  a  part  of  the  evidence  in  favour  of 
scripture  inspiration,  and  those  prophecies  that  have 
their  accomplishment  in  the  experience  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  undoubtedly  proclaim  his  Messiahship. 
The  crimes  of  men  were  not  fore-ordained,  but  they 
were  foreseen  and  fore-described.  The  freeness  of 
the  agent  is  the  essence  of  the  crime.  Guilt  by  com- 
pulsion is  a  contradiction.  Involuntary  transgression 
is  no  breach  of  law,  as  involuntary  obedience  is  no 
compliance  with  it.  The  first  is  destitute  of  the  es- 
sence of  crime,  the  last  of  the  essence  of  virtue. 
But  in  regard  to  the  compelling  power,  it  is  guilty, 
whatever  its  object.  If  a  man  compel  another  to  sin, 
he  who  compels  is  guilty  of  that  sin ;  and  if  a  man 
compel  another  to  perform  certain  religious  acts,  he 
who  compels  is  guilty  of  hypocrisy.  The  end  never 
sanctifies  the  means.  The  subject  of  compulsion,  no 
matter  whether  the  power  that  forces  him  seek  to 
serve  God  or  the  devil,  loses  his  accountability 
in  the  service  which  he  is  forced  to  perform,  simply 
because  he  is  forced.     He  is  used  only  as  a  piece  of 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  39 

macliinery,  as  a  non-intelligent  creature.  His  free 
agency  is  suspended  for  the  time  being.  If  he 
has  done  evil,  he  has  not  sinned ;  it  was  against  his 
will.  If  he  has  done  good,  he  has  not  served  God ; 
it  was  against  his  will.  But  the  power  that  compel- 
led him  is  guilty  and  accountable  in  either  case.  In 
the  first  case,  it  is  guilty  of  the  two-fold  crime  of  des- 
troying, for  the  time,  the  free  agency  of  a  human 
being,  and  committing  sin.  In  the  second  case,  it 
is  guilty  of  the  two-fold  crime  of  destroying,  for  the 
time,  the  free  agency  of  a  human  being  and  mocking 
God.  On  this  principle  then,  namely,  the  free  agency 
of  the  actors,  such  passages  as  that  quoted  above  are 
to  be  interpreted.  "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the 
determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye 
have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and 
slain,"  said  Peter  to  the  Jews  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost. In  like  manner,  Stephen  thus  fearlessly  ad- 
dressed them: — "Ye  stifi'-necked  and  uncircumcised 
in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye.  Which  of  the  pro- 
phets have  not  your  fathers  persecuted?  and  they 
have  slain  them  which  showed  before  of  the  coming 
of  the  Just  One,  of  whom  ye  have  been  now  the 
betrayers  and  murderers ;  who  have  received  the  law 
by  the  disposition  of  angels,  and  have  not  kept  it." 
In  so  far,  then,  as  the  personal  history  of  Christ  is 
concerned,  the  wisdom  and  mercy  of  God  to  our 
world  are  manifest ;  and  the  preservation  of  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,  amidst  all  the  snares  which  were  laid 
for  his  destruction,  until  he  had  finished  the  work 
which  had  been  given  him  to  do,  is  a  remarkable 
proof  of  an  ever-working  and  overruling  Providence. 


40  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

But  what  the  enemies  of  Christianity  could  not 
effect  during  the  sojourn  of  its  Founder  on  earth, 
they  attempted  to  reahze  after  his  ascension  to  hea- 
ven. Scarcely  had  he  taken  possession  of  the  throne 
of  his  glory,  when  with  increased  energy  they 
adopted  measures  for  the  utter  extinction  of  the  truth 
he  had  proclaimed,  by  seeking  the  destruction  of  the 
witnesses  in  whose  hands  he  had  deposited  it.  The 
spirit  of  Herod  still  stalked  abroad.  The  rod  of  the 
oppressor  was  not  yet  broken.  Evil  was  still  in  the 
ascendant.  Craft  was  yet  the  associate  of  power, 
hatred  of  holiness  the  companion  of  secular  influence. 
The  prodigies  of  the  crucifixion,  and  the  concomi- 
tants of  the  resurrection,  had  stunned  despotism,  and 
paralyzed  its  arm  for  a  time.  But  its  nature  was  un- 
changed, its  spirit  unbroken ;  its  pride  forbade  it  to 
acknowledge  its  mistake,  and  the  work  it  had  begun 
in  blood,  it  resolved  to  go  through  with  in  blood. 
Calm  calculation  as  to  possible  consequences  would 
have  been  tantamount  to  a  confession  of  its  folly. 
The  possibility  that  it  Avas  fighting  against  God, 
seems  to  have  occasionally  disturbed  its  dreams;  but 
to  have  harboured  the  suggestion  would  have  been  a 
proclamation  of  its  own  guilt.  Pride  and  cruelty  are 
twins:  they  co-operate,  and  mutually  encourage  each 
other.  Tyranny  fears  only  defeat,  or  the  non-suc- 
cess of  its  projects,  because  that  would  cover  it  with 
shame;  and  to  avoid  this,  it  pursues  the  course  on 
which  it  has  entered  with  increased  virulence  and  the 
result  is  to  hasten  the  end  which  it  deprecates.  It 
fills  up  the  measure  of  its  iniquity,  and  it  falls  into 
the  pit  which  it  had  digged  for  others.  It  prepares 
the  cup  and  mixes  the  ingredients,  and  an  hi  visible 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  41 

hand  compels  it  to  drink.  It  sows  the  wind,  and  it 
is  obliged  to  reap  the  whirlwind.  It  sheds  the  blood 
of  saints,  and  God  gives  it  blood  to  drink.  Crime 
is  begotten  of  fatuity:  it  contains  the  elements  of  self- 
destruction  in  its  own  bosom.  The  connexion  be- 
tween sin  and  suffering  is  inevitable.  Such  is  the 
settled  constitution  of  the  moral  world.  God  has  so 
ordained  it.  Here  then,  is  the  conservative  principle 
of  good  in  this  bad  world.  The  institution  of  this 
principle  is  proof  at  once  of  the  Divine  goodness 
and  prescience,  and  the  working  out  of  this  principle, 
in  the  experience  of  individuals  and  nations,  is  proof 
that  God  reigneth  over  the  affairs  of  time.  "  They 
that  take  the  sword,  shall  perish  with  the  sword.'* 
This  is  one  of  the  laws  of  righteous  government. 
Who  shall  impugn  it?  It  were  wisdom  to  attend  to 
it,  and  the  aggressor  would  cease,  hostility  and  ty- 
ranny would  perish  from  the  earth,  and  the  reign  of 
peace  would  be  universal.  There  is  a  day  of  final 
judgment,  when  all  the  mysteries  of  time  will  be 
cleared,  all  doubts  solved,  devotion  to  the  Redeemer 
openly  acknowledged,  and  opposition  to  his  sceptre 
righteously  punished;  but  were  men  wise  they  would 
see  that  there  is  a  judgment  process  going  on  now; 
the  history  of  nations  declares  it;  "Now  is  the  judg- 
ment of  this  world;"  the  history  of  Christianity 
proves  that  God  has  always  espoused  her  cause.  The 
gates  of  hell  have  not  prevailed  against  her.  No 
weapon  formed  against  her  has  prospered.  God  has 
contended  with  them  that  contended  with  her.  The 
resolution  was  announced: — "Even  the  captives  of 
the  mighty  shall  be  laken  away,  and  the  prey  of  the 

terrible  shall  be  delivered;  for  I  will  contend  with 

4» 


42  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

liim  that  contendeth  witfi  thee,  and  I  will  save  thy 
children;  and  I  will  feed  them  that  oppress  thee  with 
their  own  flesh;  and  they  shall  be  drunken  with  their 
own  blood,  as  with  new  wine:  and  all  flesh  shall 
know  that  I  the  Lord  am  thy  Saviom*  and  thy  Re- 
deemer, the  mighty  One  of  Jacob. 

The  history  of  the  early  church  amply  illustrates 
all  these  facts.  She  was  preserved  amidst  fire,  and 
water,  and  blood,  for  God  was  with  her.  Almost 
incredible  were  the  persecutions  which  she  endured. 
But  she  lived,  and  flourished,  and  spread  with  as- 
tonishing rapidity.  "  When  we  consider,"  says 
Mosheim,  "the  rapid  progress  of  Christianity  among 
the  Gentile  nations,  and  the  poor  and  feeble  instru- 
ments by  which  this  great  and  amazing  event  was 
immediately  effected,  we  must  naturally  have  re- 
course to  an  omnipotent  and  invisible  hand,  as  its 
true  and  proper  cause.  For  unless  we  suppose  here 
a  divine  interposition,  how  was  it  possible  that  men, 
destitute  of  all  human  aid,  without  credit  or  riches, 
learning  or  eloquence,  could,  in  so  short  a  time,  per- 
suade a  considerable  part  of  mankind  to  abandon  the 
religion  of  their  ancestors?  How  was  it  possible 
that  a  handful  of  apostles,  who,  as  fishermen  and 
publicans,  must  have  been  contemned  by  their  own 
nation,  and  as  Jews,  must  have  been  odious  to  all 
others,  could  engage  the  learned  and  the  mighty,  as 
well  as  the  simple  and  those  of  low  degree,  to  for- 
sake their  favourite  prejudices,  and  to  embrace  a  new 
religion  which  was  an  enemy  to  their  corrupt  pas- 
sions? And  indeed,  there  were  undoubted  marks  of 
a  celestial  power  perpetually  attending  their  ministry. 
There   was,  in   their   very   language,  an   incredible 


THE    MIPNIGHT    FLIGHT.  43 

energy,  an  amazing  power  of  sending  light  into  the 
understanding,  and  conviction  into  the  heart.  To 
this  were  added  the  commanding  influence  of  stu- 
pendous miracles,  the  foretelling  of  future  events, 
the  power  of  discerning  the  secret  thoughts  and  in- 
tentions of  the  heart,  a  magnanimity  superior  to  all 
difliculties,  a  contempt  of  riches  and  honours,  a  se- 
rene tranquillity  in  the  face  of  death,  and  an  invin- 
cible patience  under  torments  still  more  dreadful  than 
death  itself;  and  all  this  accompanied  with  lives  free 
from  all  stain,  and  adorned  with  the  constant  prac- 
tice of  sublime  virtue.  Thus  were  the  messengers 
of  the  Divine  Saviour,  the  heralds  of  his  spiritual 
and  immortal  kingdom,  furnished  for  their  glorious 
work,  as  the  unanimous  voice  of  ancient  history  so 
loudly  testifies.  The  event  sufficiently  declares  this, 
for  without  these  remarkable  and  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances, no  rational  account  can  be  given  of  the 
rapid  propagation  of  the  gospel  throughout  the 
world." 

Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  Palestine  was  laid  waste. 
The  blood  of  Christ,  invoked  by  their  fathers,  fell 
upon  the  heads  of  the  Jews.  The  nation  became  a 
bye-word  and  a  hissing.  Time  rolled  on;  the  spirit 
of  persecution  laboured  in  vain:  it  wearied  itself 
with  very  vanity ;  tyranny  was  frustrated  on  every 
hand ;  but  the  enemy  of  God  and  of  souls  had  one 
arrow  left  in  his  quiver;  he  drew  it  and  threw  it 
with  calamitous  success ;  for  a  time  it  made  fearful 
havoc.  His  device  was  this:  to  destroy  the  spiritu- 
ality of  Christianity.  Its  spirituality  was  its  power, 
its  beauty,  its  life.  Destroy  this,  and  the  foe  will  ob- 
tain victory.     Let  the  church  be  secularized;  and  the 


44  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

end,  vainly  sought  by  persecution,  will  be  attained. 
Blood  could  not  render  it  powerless,  bribery  will. 
Constantine  the  Great,  whose  regard  for  Christianity, 
notwithstanding  all  that  his  apologists  have  urged 
to  the  contrary,  appears  to  have  been  measured  by 
the  probability  that  it  would  subserve  his  political 
designs,  took  the  first  step  in  this  calamitous  policy. 
About  the  year  312,  he  granted  it  full  toleration. 
Would  that  he  had  stopped  there  !  But  this  was 
followed,  in  rapid  succession,  by  grants,  bribes,  en- 
dowments, secular  power,  and  spiritual  death!  It 
is  a  tale  of  lamentation,  mourning,  and  woe,  for  more 
than  a  thousand  years.  The  church  was  established, 
and  the  monster  tyrant,  half  church,  half  state,  grew 
a  bloated  blasphemer.  The  judgment  of  the  great 
day  will  unfold  its  history.  The  entrance  of  sin  into 
our  world  excepted,  the  subjugation  of  Christianity 
to  secular  control  was  the  greatest  curse  that  ever 
blighted  humanity. 

But  did  the  foe  triumph  completely?  Did  the 
religion  of  Jesus  perish?  No!  "The  woman  fled 
into  the  wilderness."  There  were  some  Abdiels 
found,  faithful  to  their  God,  their  Redeemer,  and 
their  consciences.  They  dissented  from  the  dreadful 
system.  They  would  not  conform  to  its  abomina- 
tions. The  recesses  of  the  Alps  received  them,  the 
valleys  of  Piedmont  witnessed  their  faith  and  order ; 
amidst  incredible  persecution  from  the  hand  of  Anti- 
Christ  they  survived;  and  God  has  never  left  him- 
self without  witness.  And  whilst,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  nations  of  Europe  have  imitated  the  fatal  pre- 
cedent set  them  by  the  Roman  Emperor,  by  or- 
ganizing and  establishing,  each  for  itself,  a  national 


THE    MIDNIGHT    FLIGHT.  45 

church;  on  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  found  in 
those  nations,  men  whose  loyahy  to  the  Redeemer's 
sceptre,  and  Avhose  knowledge  of  the  spiritnaUty  of 
his  kingdom,  have  led  them  to  dissent  from  these 
secular  institutions,  and  to  maintain  in  simplicity 
"the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  But  for 
the  existence  and  practical  activity  of  this  principle 
of  dissent,  the  nations  of  Europe  would  present  at 
this  hour  to  the  eye  of  the  spectator,  so  far  as  religion 
is  concerned,  one  unruffled  dead  sea  of  formalism, 
one  vast  mass  of  spiritual  death.  God,  whose  Divine 
Providence  has  watched  over  the  career  of  Christianity, 
always  employs  the  most  appropriate  means  for  de- 
feating his  enemies,  and  eifecting  his  purposes ;  and 
while  he  commissions  an  angel  to  Joseph,  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  child  Jesus  from  the  hands 
of  Herod,  and  causes  his  ciiurch  to  flourish  in  the 
midst  of  Jewish  and  Pagan  persecution,  he  can  also 
frustrate  the  purpose  of  the  enemy  who  would  secu- 
larize the  spiritual  kingdom  of  Messiah,  by  calling 
on  his  witnesses  during  the  dark  ages  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  doomed  system,  by  repeating 
the  call  at  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  and  by  con- 
tinuing to  add  the  testimony  of  his  approbation  to 
the  labours  of  those  whose  church  polity  is  built 
upon  a  recognition  of  the  spirituality  of  the  whole 
Christian  system. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THK    TEMPLE. 

THE    POWER   OF   SINLESS    INTELLECT. 

"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  Never  child 
reasoned  like  this  child.  Wisdom,  sought  in  vain  in 
the  pages  of  philosophy,  flowed  from  his  lips.  His 
thoughts  excited  admiration ;  his  words  thrilled  the 
heart ;  his  early  understanding  astonished  his  hearers. 
"In  him,"  says  the  Apostle,  "are  hid  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge." 

Herod  was  dead,  and  the  Angel  of  the  Lord,  ac- 
cording to  promise,  informed  Joseph  of  the  event, 
and  commanded  him  to  return  from  Egypt  into  the 
land  of  Israel.  He  obeyed,  but  hearing  that  the 
cruel  Archelaus — who,  at  the  very  beginning  of  his 
reign  massacred  three  thousand  Jews  in  the  temple, 
at  the  feast  of  the  Passover — reigned  over  Judea  in 
the  room  of  his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go 
thither.  Again,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to 
him  in  a  dream,  and  instructed  him  to  withdraw  into 
the  region  of  Galilee.  Here  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  Nazareth,  a  place  so  very  contemptible  among  the 
Jews,  that  it  was  grown  into  a  proverb :  hence,  the 
question  of  Nathanael,  "Can  there  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  Nazareth?"  Here  then  Jesus  resided,  and. 


THE    TEMPLE.  47 

from  this  circumstance,  he  and  his  disciples  were 
afterwards  contemptuously  called  Nazarenes.  From 
this  place,  Mary  and  Joseph  went  yearly  to  Jerusa- 
lem, to  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  And  when  Christ 
was  twelve  years  old,  at  which  age,  according  to  Jew- 
ish maxims,  children  came  under  the  yoke  of  the  law, 
they  took  him  up  with  them  to  join  in  the  celebration 
of  the  feast.  "And  when  they  had  fulfilled  the 
days,"  says  Luke,  "  as  they  returned,  the  child  Jesus 
tarried  behind  in  Jerusalem;  and  Joseph  and  his 
mother  knew  not  of  it.  But  they,  supposing  him  to 
be  in  the  company,  went  a  day's  journey,  and  they 
sought  him  among  their  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance. 
And  when  they  found  him  not,  they  turned  back 
again  to  Jerusalem,  seeking  him.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  that  after  three  days,  they  found  him  in  the 
temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,  both  hear- 
ing them,  and  asking  them  questions.  And  all  that 
heard  him  were  astonished  at  his  understanding  and 
answers." 

One  of  the  modes  of  instruction  pursued  by  Jewish 
teachers,  was  to  propose  questions  to  their  pupils, 
and  elicit  answers  from  them.  They  also  encouraged 
them  to  ask  information  on  any  subject  of  difficulty 
that  presented  itself  to  their  minds.  This  was  a 
judicious  and  profitable  custom.  Among  its  other 
advantages,  it  is  obvious  that  it  would  tend  to  fix  the 
attention  of  the  young,  and  to  incite  to  mental  activity. 
"  Sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,"  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  merely  meaning  that  Jesus  had  placed  him- 
self among  others  at  their  feet,  "as  they  sat  on 
benches  of  a  semicircular  form,  raised  above  their 
auditors  and  disciples."     There  are  allusions  to  this 


4S  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

practice  in  the  Bible,  as,  for  example,  "  They  came 
to  him,  and  found  the  man,  out  of  whom  the  devils 
were  departed,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed, 
and  in  his  right  mind ;"  and,  in  the  case  of  Mary, 
who  "  sat  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  heard  his  word,"  and 
in  that  of  Paul,  who  said,  "  I  was  brought  up  in  this 
city  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  taught  according  to 
the  perfect  manner  of  the  law  of  the  fathers."  In- 
deed, the  practice  in  question  seems  to  have  been 
very  ancient,  for  in  "the  blessing  wherewith  Moses, 
the  man  of  God,  blessed  the  children  of  Israel  before 
his  death,"  there  is  this  expression,  "  Yea,  he  loved 
the  people;  all  his  saints  are  in  thy  hand:  and  they 
sat  down  at  thy  feet;  every  one  shall  receive  of  thy 
words."  The  position  which  Jesus  occupied,  then, 
was  not  that  of  a  teacher,  but  that  of  a  learner.  He 
listened  with  the  most  earnest  attention  to  the  ex- 
position of  the  law,  and  proposed  questions  which 
from  their  profundity,  and  also,  perhaps,  from  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  asked,  excited  the  sur- 
prise and  admiration  of  the  Jewish  doctors.  It  is 
obvious,  at  all  events,  from  the  history,  that  the 
depth  of  his  understanding,  evinced  by  the  answers 
he  returned  to  their  questions,  astonished  them. 
We  imagine  them  exchanging  with  each  other  looks 
of  surprise.  Here  is  no  common  child.  Who  is 
he?  Who  are  his  parents?  Whence  his  astonishing 
proficiency?  It  has  not  been  gathered  at  our  feet, 
for  this  is  his  first  visit  to  the  temple.  Neither  is  it 
supposing  too  much  to  suggest,  that  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  eye  and  countenance  of  Jesus  that  ar- 
rested attention,  and  made  an  impression,  not  soon 
forgotten,  on  the  minds  of  all  who  saw  him.    Perhaps 


THE    TEMPLE.  49 

also,  the  return  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  people  in  the 
lower  walks  of  life,  and  inhabitants  of  such  a  des- 
pised place  as  Nazareth,  to  claim  the  wonderful 
child  as  their  son,  would  add  to  the  astonishment 
already  felt  and  expressed  by  these  learned  rabbis. 
Whether  they  inquired  how  he  became  the  possessor 
of  such  wisdom,  and  obtained  any  information  re- 
specting the  miraculous  circumstances  attending  his 
birth,  we  are  not  informed.  The  probability  is,  that 
they  did  not ;  or,  if  they  did,  the  prudence  of  Mary 
would  dictate  to  her  the  propriety  of  saying  little; 
and  of  continuing  to  "ponder  these  things  in  her 
heart."  The  supposition  of  Dr.  Guyse,  that  "  some- 
thing of  his  divinity  displayed  itself  on  this  occasion 
in  such  a  surprising  manner  that  he  outshone  all 
the  rabbis  themselves  in  the  sagacity  and  prudence 
of  his  questions  and  replies,"  is,  perhaps,  correct; 
yet  without  having  recourse  to  this  theory  at  present, 
a  theory  without  which  it  is  impossible  to  account  for 
many  of  the  words  and  works  of  Jesus  in  after  life — 
a  theory  without  which,  indeed,  no  rational  meaning 
can  be  attached  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  as,  without  allowing  the  full  Deity  of  the 
Son  of  God,  not  only  is  violence  done  to  every  cor- 
rect principle  of  interpretation,  but  the  mysteries  of 
revelation  are  increased  a  thousand  fold — we  say, 
without  availing  ourselves  of  the  supposition  that  the 
questions  and  answers  of  Jesus  were  at  this  time 
dictated  by  "the  Divinity  within,"  we  shall  recall  a 
few  facts  which  may  account  for  his  early  acquire- 
ments, and  suggest  a  few  considerations  calculated  to 
excite  the  most  glowing  anticipations  regarding  the 
intellectual  prospects  of  those  who  hope  for  salvation 

5 


50  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

through  the  atonement  of  the  Mediator  of  the  new 
covenant. 

It  will  be  recollected,  then,  that  a  body  was  pre- 
pared for  the  Son  of  God;  that  to  us  a  child  was 
given ;  that  this  child  increased  in  wisdom  and  statiure ; 
that  there  was  a  gradual  development  of  his  intel- 
lectual and  physical  powers;  that  he  possessed  real 
manhood,  a  human  body  and  soul ;  that  he  took  not 
on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the 
seed  of  Abraham;  that  forasmuch  as  the  children 
are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself 
likewise  took  part  of  the  same,  that  through  death 
he  might  destroy  him  who  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil;  and  that  in  all  things  it  behoved 
him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might 
be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high  priest  in  things  per- 
taining to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of 
the  people.  It  will  be  recollected,  also,  that  from 
the  announcement  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  the  song  of 
Elisabeth,  the  declaration  of  the  shepherds,  the  testi- 
mony of  Simeon  and  Anna,  the  conduct  of  the  sages, 
and  concurrent  and  subsequent  events,  Mary  could 
not  but  know  that  she  was  honoured  to  be  the 
mother  of  the  promised  Saviour.  Indeed,  she  knew 
it  well.  She  "marvelled  at  those  things  which  were 
spoken  of  the  child  Jesus.  She  pondered  them  in  her 
heart,"  that  is  to  say,  she  examined  them  gratefully 
and  attentively,  and  understood  their  meaning;  and  if 
further  evidence  were  necessary,  her  rapturous  song 
of  praise,  when  visiting  her  kinswoman  Elisabeth, 
as  recorded  by  the  Evangelist  Luke,  abundantly  fur- 
nishes it.  Here  there  are  two  facts:  first,  that  he 
who  arose  to  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob,  partook 


THE    TEMPLE.  51- 

of  all  the  sinless  characteristics  of  our  common  hu- 
manity; and  secondly",  that  Mary,  his  mother,  knew 
that  her  son  was  the  appointed  Ruler  in  Israel.  With 
what  unspeakable  tenderness,  and  gratitude,  and 
wonder,  then,  would  such  a  highly  honoured  mother 
■watch  over  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  such  a  son ! 
A  wonderful  destiny  awaited  him?  His  very  name 
was  announced  by  the  Angel,  and  the  reason  for 
such  a  name  intimated.  "Thou  shalt  call  his  name 
Jesus:  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins. 
He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the 
Highest;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the 
throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he  shall  reign  over 
the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever;  and  of  his  kingdom 
there  shall  be  no  end."  Could  Mary  ever  forget 
this?  Nay,  rather  would  she  not  feel  the  unspeak- 
able responsibility  of  her  charge?  Would  she  not  be 
filled  with  awe  as  she  gazed  upon  the  heavenly  coun- 
tenance of  the  babe,  of  whom  by  the  creative  power 
of  God,  she  had  become  the  mother?  Would  she 
not  watch  with  thrilling  emotion  the  evidences  that 
his  mind  was  rapidly  expanding?  Would  she  not 
cry  fervently  to  God  for  direction  in  her  efforts  to 
meet  the  inquiries  of  that  expanding  mind  on  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  law  and  the  prophets?  If  the 
following  command  regarding  the  words  of  the  law 
of  the  Lord,  namely,  "Thou  shalt  teach  them  dili- 
gently unto  thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them 
when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou 
walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and 
when  thou  risest  up,"  was  obeyed  by  every  pious 
Jewish  parent,  would  the  "prudent"  and  devout 
Joseph,  and  the  pious  Mary,  neglect  it  in  the  case  of 


52  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

the  child  Jesus?  Would  not  every  aid  in  providing 
information  for  him,  which  their  poverty  permitted 
them  to  enjoy,  be  eagerly  seized,  and  highly  valued? 
Would  not  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth  be  a  sacred 
spot,  habitually  attended?  Would  not  Jesus  prize 
its  services?  Luke  tells  us  it  "  was  his  custom  to  go 
into  the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  day."  He  was 
soon  to  go  about  his  "  Father's  business,"  and  his 
mind  eagerly  sought  acquaintance  with  those  things 
which  his  Father  had  said  "  at  sundry  times  and  in 
divers  manners  by  the  prophets."  But  in  addition 
to  the  care  and  solicitude  of  Mary  to  minister  to  the 
intellectual  gratification  of  that  child,  whose  wisdom, 
at  the  tender  age  of  twelve,  astonished  the  Jewish 
doctors,  there  is  one  fact  more  to  be  recollected.  It  is 
still  more  important  than  those  already  mentioned.  It 
is  a  fact  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  human 
mind,  since  the  entrance  of  sin  into  our  world.  Jesus 
Christ  possessed  a  sinless  intellect.  His  under- 
standing was  not  obscured  by  depravity.  There 
floated  no  moral  haze  around  his  mind.  The  rays  of 
light  had  not  to  struggle  through  thick  fogs.  There 
arose  no  mist  from  within.  There  was  no  dislike  to 
the  truth;  no  loving  of  darkness  rather  than  the  light, 
for  he  had  no  evil  deeds,  and  no  natural  propensity 
thereto;  the  heart  loved,  and  the  understanding  cov- 
eted light;  there  was  no  need  of  persuasion  to  the 
right,  for  the  whole  bent  of  the  mind  was  truth  ward; 
no  necessity  for  entreaty,  for  an  increase  of  holy 
knowledge  was  his  joy.  He  grew  in  wisdom;  it  was 
his  natural  selection;  it  accorded  with  his  moral 
tastes;  he  deemed  "the  merchandise  of  it  better  than 
the  merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain  therefore  more 


T.HE    TEMPLE.  53 

than  fine  gold."  He  increased  in  wisdom,  for  it  was 
the  aliment  of  his  sinless  soul.  It  was  his  meat  and 
his  drink.  There  was  a  gradual  development  of  his 
intellectual  powers:  there  was  the  dawn,  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  advancing  day;  but  it  was  a  day  with- 
out clouds,  the  horizon  was  clear,  the  light  was 
welcomed,  loved,  treasured.  His  imagination  was 
not  defiled,  his  memory  was  not  weakened,  his  will 
was  not  perverted,  his  perception  was  not  obscured 
by  hereditary  taint;  for  he  was  absolutely  without 
sin.  His  holiness  was  not  comparative,  like  that  of 
his  people,  but  positive ;  not  acquired  like  theirs, 
but  inherent  and  original.  For  proof  of  this,  we  re- 
fer to  prophets,  evangelists,  and  apostles;  for  the 
necessity  of  this  we  refer  to  his  office  as  mediator ; 
for  the  advantage  which  this  gave  him  in  the  acqui- 
sition of  Divine  knowledge,  we  refer  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  Jewish  doctors  regarding  him,  when  he 
was  not  more  than  twelve  years  of  age. 

It  is  superfluous  to  dwell  on  the  facility  for  ac- 
quiring knowledge  which  the  absence  of  moral  im- 
perfection must  give.  Indeed,  the  existence  of  moral 
imperfection  in  our  own  minds  prevents  an  adequate 
conception  of  it.  We  can  only  reason  imperfectly 
about  a  matter  regarding  which  we  have  no  personal 
experience.  We  cannot  realize  the  strength  of  that 
mental  power  which  is  not  clogged  and  fettered  by 
moral  infirmity,  because  we  have  not  known  it  our- 
selves. Sinless  intellect  is  not  yet  the  portion  of  any 
of  the  dwellers  on  earth.  Our  best  aid  here,  there- 
fore, is  to  reason  by  contrast.  We  know  full  well, 
by  painful  experience,  how  slow  is  the  process  by 
which  we  arrive  at  any  great  religious  truth.     Here 

5* 


54  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

a  little  and  there  a  little,  as  we  are  able  to  bear  it — 
this  is  the  mode  by  which  we  are  instructed  in  the 
things  of  the  kingdom.  And  the  same  painful  expe- 
rience teaches  us  that  we  must  regularly  struggle 
against  the  counteracting  influence  of  inward  evil, 
not  to  mention  external  temptations,  which,  from 
their  aflinity  to  inward  foes,  frequently  succeed  in 
hurling  us  headlong  from  the  mount  of  contempla- 
tion. We  would  think,  but  we  are  checked.  We 
would  soar,  but  we  are  clogged.  We  would  medi- 
tate, but  we  are  encumbered.  We  would  run,  but 
there  is  a  "  weight."  We  would  gaze  into  the  myste- 
ries of  the  kingdom,  but  we  see  only  through  a  glass 
darkly.  "  When  we  would  do  good,  evil  is  present 
with  lis."  Ours  is  a  wrestling,  a  fighting.  There  is 
the  old  against  the  new  man,  the  spirit  against  the 
flesh,  in  constant  combat,  and  the  heart  of  the  believer 
is  the  scene  of  this  war. 

And  if  this  be  true  of  the  man  who  has  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  who  has  felt  the  powers  of  the 
world  to  come,  and  who  has  experienced  the  hberty 
wherewith  Christ  makes  his  people  free,  how  must 
the  entirely  unsanctified  heart  oppose  itself  to  all 
holy  thought?  Writing  to  the  Ephesians,  the  Apostle 
speaks  thus  of  the  Gentiles: — "This  I  say  therefore, 
and  testify  in  the  Lord,  that  ye  henceforth  walk  not 
as  other  Gentiles  walk,  in  the  vanity  of  their  mind, 
having  the  understanding  darkened,  being  alienated 
from  the  life  of  God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in 
them,  because  of  the  blindness  of  their  heart:  Avho 
being  past  feeling  have  given  themselves  over  unto 
lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with  greedi- 
ness."    While  the  heart  remains  in  this  state,  the 


THE    TEMPLE.  55 

knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  will 
not  be  sought  after.  Success  in  any  pursuit  requires 
the  exercise  of  the  will,  and  the  love  of  the  object 
pursued.  Hence  God  makes  his  people  willing. 
The  tendency  of  the  affections,  perverted  by  sin,  is 
changed  by  grace.  They  flow  in  a  new  channel.  They 
attach  themselves  to  new  objects.  These  objects  are 
in  harmony  with  the  Holy  power  that  regenerates. 
Old  things  pass  away,  all  things  become  new.  Growth 
in  grace  ensues.  The  affections  are  set  on  things  above, 
and  there  is  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  God.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  sanctification  of  the  heart  and  the 
expansion  of  the  understanding  should  develope  them- 
selves harmoniously.  Intelligence  and  purity  should 
mutually  assist  each  other.  The  prayer  of  Christ  con- 
veys this  idea:  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth." 
The  more  the  knowledge  of  God  is  acquired,  the 
more  it  will  be  loved;  and  the  more  it  is  loved,  the 
stronger  will  be  the  desire  to  acquire  it.  The  Gen- 
tiles "did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge," 
and  the  consequence  w^s,  that  they  not  only  wallowed 
in  impm-ity,  but  groped  amidst  darkness,  became 
irrational,  void  of  judgment,  "without  imderstanding, 
without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmerciful." 
But  when  the  love  of  holiness  takes  place,  divine  light 
rushes  in.  "  And  such  were  some  of  you,  but  ye  are 
washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit 
of  our  God."  What  a  change  had  been  effected, 
when  Paul  could  address  the  previously  impure, 
ignorant,  and  degraded  Corinthians  thus:  —  "We 
all,  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image 


56  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord." 

Assimilation  to  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
fflorions  destiny  of  the  redeemed.  To  this  consum- 
mation all  the  divine  arrangements  regarding  them 
tend.  The  system  of  recovery  contemplates  nothing 
short  of  this ;  and  it  will  not  have  etfected  its  ma- 
jestic design  mitil  this  end  shall  be  fully  realized.  And 
this  end  will  be  realized.  "Now  are  we  sons  of 
God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  : 
but  we  know  that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  "  Glory 
shall  be  revealed  in  us."  We  shall  be  "conformed 
to  the  image  of  the  Son."  He  is  the  only  instance  of 
sinless  humanity  dwelling  on  earth  since  the  fall,  and 
he  is  the  pattern  after  which  his  people  are  to  be 
fashioned.  The  process  of  transformation  is  now 
going  on  in  all  the  regenerate;  and  it  is  their  pri- 
vilege to  be  assured  that  they  shall  "all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God,  unto  a  perfect  maii^  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  "  And  as  we 
have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also 
bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."  "  When  Christ, 
who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  ap- 
pear with  him  in  glory."  Nor  are  these  briglit 
anticipations  confined  to  our  moral  and  intellectual 
being,  for  when  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  appear 
"He  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be 
fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to 
the  working  whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all 
things  unto  himself" 

Such,  then,  is  the  prospect  which  God  has  opened 


THE    TEMPLE.  57 

up  for  the  followers  of  his  Son;  and  is  it  not 
well  fitted  to  suggest  the  most  animating  thoughts  ? 
The  present  obscurity  of  our  mental  vision  will  be 
removed,  for  we  shall  outgrow  our  moral  imperfec- 
tion, which  is  our  grand  impediment  in  attempting 
to  run  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  which  forms  the 
chief  hinderance  when  we  would  search  into  the 
mysteries  of  his  truth.  With  what  joy  shall  we 
read  the  revelations  of  the  future  world,  and  gaze 
on  those  discoveries,  ever  fresh  and  wonderful, 
which  will  unfold  themselves  in  the  world  to  come ! 
Studies  of  which  we  have  now  no  conception  will 
attract  us.  The  breadth  of  Immanuel's  land  will  be 
spread  before  us,  in  all  the  beauty  of  its  unclouded 
scenery,  and  the  angels  that  kept  their  first  estate, 
together  with  the  innumerable  company  redeemed 
from  all  nations,  will  form  our  companions  and  fellow 
students.  The  history  of  matter  and  of  mind,  of 
creation  and  providence,  of  moral  government  and 
redemption,  will  engage  our  thoughts,  and  form  the 
themes  of  our  conversation.  Our  sinless  intellects 
will  grasp  the  mighty,  and  acquire  new  strength  by 
every  successive  flood  of  light  that  radiates  from  the 
great  white  throne.  Partakers  of  the  divine  nature, 
we  shall  comprehend,  as  far  as  the  finite  can  com- 
prehend manifestations  of  the  infinite,  those  dark 
things  of  God  which  in  our  present  state  of  being 
we  are  obliged  to  call  "  mysteries."  What  we  know 
not  now,  in  this  the  infancy  of  our  being,  we  shall 
know  hereafter,  when  mortality  is  swallowed  up  of 
life.  The  principles  on  which  the  all-wise  God  pro- 
ceeds in  the  government  of  this  world  are  so  far 
beyond    our    mental    grasp    at    present,    that    "  the 


58  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

darkness  of  the  ways  of  providence"  has  become  a 
form  of  speech  with  us,  indicating  a  vast  reaUty. 
"  We  cannot  by  searching  find  out  God."  Tlie  lan- 
guage of  Job  is  adopted  by  multitudes  daily :  "  Be- 
hold, I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there ;  and  back- 
ward, but  I  cannot  perceive  him :  on  the  left  hand, 
where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot  behold  him; 
he  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see 
him,"  His  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  his  path  in  the  great 
waters,  and  his  footsteps  are  not  known. 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea 
And  rides  upon  the  storm." 

Nevertheless,  we  are  assured  that  infinite  Wisdom 
presides  over  all  things.  Faith  comes  to  our  aid, 
where  sense  fails,  and  human  judgment  is  baffled. 

"  Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 
Of  never  failing  skill, 
He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs, 
And  works  his  sovereign  will." 

And  it  will  be  part  of  our  employment  in  our 
future  state  of  being  to  examine  those  footsteps  of 
providence,  to  retrace  all  the  way  that  the  Lord  shall 
have  led  us,  and  to  appropriate,  as  part  of  the  ali- 
ment of  our  purified  understanding,  every  new  de- 
velopment of  his  infinite  wisdom  and  Fatherly  care. 
And  in  as  far  as  the  thoughts  of  intelligent  manhood 
surpass  those  of  childhood,  and  the  reasonings  of 
the  philosopher  those  of  the  illiterate  peasant,  will 
our  intellect,  when  delivered  from  the  encumbrances 
and  obstacles  incident  to  our  present  state  and  cha- 


THE    TEMPLE.  59 

racter,  excel  the  highest  thoughts  and  purest  reason- 
mg  of  which  we  are  now  capable.  Now  we  have 
frequently  to  unlearn  that  which  we  have  acquired, 
to  pull  down  that  which  we  have  built  up  with  care ; 
but  then  there  will  be  no  retrograde  movement, 
inasmuch  as  there  will  be  no  false  lights  exhibited  by 
any  tempter,  to  allure  us  from  the  royal  highway, 
and  no  heart-sympathy  with  the  doubtful  or  uncer- 
tain ;  but  constant  progress  in  that  path  which  leads 
to  increasing  honour  and  glory,  and  constant  accu- 
mulation of  such  knowledge  as  shall  fit  for  the  high 
services  of  the  great  God.  There  will  be  no  dark 
influence  to  eclipse  the  full  blaze  of  heaven's  meri- 
dian smi,  for  there  will  be  no  false  apostles  to  in- 
sinuate heresy  into  the  mind,  and  no  false  Christs 
to  erect  the  standard  of  rebellion  against  the  righteous 
authority  of  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant  who 
has  bought  us  with  his  blood.  There  will  be  no 
mental  anxieties  in  the  case  of  those  "  who  shall  be 
accounted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world,"  for  "  He 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them; 
they  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ; 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them  nor  any  heat: 
for  the  lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living 
fountains  of  waters :  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes."  And  there  will  be  no  ex- 
ternal cause  of  disquietude  or  fear,  for  "no  lion 
shall  be  there,  nor  any  ravenous  beast  shall  go  up 
thereon,  it  shall  not  be  found  there  ;  but  the  redeemed 
shall  walk  there ;  and  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy 
upon  their   heads :   they  shall   obtain  joy  and   glad- 


60  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

ness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  •  shall  flee  away." 
Amidst  such  glorious  circumstances,  how  rapidly 
will  the  understanding  expand!  The  years  of 
eternity  will  add  to  its  holy  wealth.  Sinless  intel- 
lect will  grow  rich  in  the  presence,  and  by  the  teach- 
ing, of  "  Him  in  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge," 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE    JORDAN. 


THE    IIEAVENLV    ATTESTATION. 


Jordan  is  among  the  most  celebrated  of  rivers,  not 
on  account  of  any  extraordinary  length  or  breadth, 
for  from  its  uppermost  spring  in  Mount  Lebanon, 
till  it  loses  itself  in  the  Dead  Sea,  its  whole  course 
is  only  about  160  miles,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
those  lakes  which  it  forms  at  intervals  in  its  progress, 
its  inner  banks  are  seldom  more  than  thirty  yards 
apart;  neither  does  it  derive  its  fame  from  hostile 
fleets  meeting  on  its  bosom,  and  crimsoning  its 
waters  with  human  blood ;  nor  from  being  the  scene 
of  conmiercial  activity  and  mercantile  enterprise.  Its 
celebrity  rests  on  a  more  durable  foundation  than 
any  of  these  circumstances  could  lay;  for  its  name 
is  associated  with  events  of  the  most  thi'illing  interest 
in  the  religious  history  of  man,  and  in  the  records  of 
Divine  Providence.  The  warrior  and  the  merchant, 
as  such — names  which,  though  thus  incidentally  con- 
nected, are  essentially  opposed,  for  the  spirit  of  com- 
merce is  necessarily  friendly  to  international  peace — 
will  find  little  to  interest  them  in  the  name  of  Jordan. 
It  will  not  recall  any  "splendid  victory"  or  "terrible 
defeat,"  at  least,  in  the  modern  sense  of  these  terms, 
to  the  memory  of  the  former;   nor  will  it  prove  to 

6 


62  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

the  latter  a  remembrancer  of  successful  speculation. 
But  to  the  student  of  the  Bible  it  is  a  name  in- 
separably united  to  sacred  reminiscences.  Here  God 
manifested  himself  for  his  ancient  people,  after  their 
long  sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  and  gave  proof  that 
he  had  appointed  Joshua  to  bring  them  in  triumph 
to  the  land  of  promise.  "And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Joshua,  this  day  will  I  begin  to  magnify  thee  in  the 
sight  of  all  Israel,  that  they  may  know  that,  as  I  was 
with  Moses,  so  will  I  be  with  thee.  And  thou  shalt 
command  the  priests  that  bear  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, saying,  When  ye  are  come  to  the  brink  of  the 
water  of  Jordan,  ye  shall  stand  still  in  Jordan." 
The  command  was  accordingly  given,  and  the  result 
is  recorded  in  the  following  words:  "And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  the  people  removed  from  their  tents, 
to  pass  over  Jordan,  and  the  priests  bearing  the  ark 
of  the  covenant  before  the  people ;  and  as  they  that 
bare  the  ark  were  come  unto  Jordan,  and  the  feet  of 
the  priests  that  bare  the  ark  were  dipped  in  the  brim 
of  the  water — for  Jordan  overfloweth  all  his  banks 
all  the  time  of  harvest — that  the  waters  which  came 
down  from  above  stood  and  rose  up  upon  a  heap 
very  far  from  the  city  Adam,  that  is  beside  Zaretan  : 
And  those  that  came  down  toward  the  sea  of  the 
plain,  even  the  Salt  Sea,  failed,  and  were  cut  off: 
and  the  people  passed  over  right  against  Jericho. 
And  the  priests  that  bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of 
the  Lord  stood  firm  on  dry  ground  in  the  midst  of 
Jordan,  and  all  the  Israelites  passed  over  on  dry 
ground,  until  all  the  people  were  passed  clean  over 
Jordan."  They  were  also  instructed  to  take  twelve 
stones  out  of  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  to  leave  them 


THK    JORDAN.  63 

iii  the  place  where  they  should  lodge  that  night,  as 
a  memorial  to  their  descendants  of  this  gracious 
miracle. 

The  waters  of  Jordan  were  divided  for  Elijah  and 
Elisha,  before  the  translation  of  the  former.  They 
had  gone  but  a  short  distance  from  the  river's  bank, 
in  solemn  conversation,  when  they  were  separated  by 
"  a  chariot  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire  ;  and  Elijah  went 
up  by  a  whirlwind  into  heaven."  The  great  restorer 
of  the  law  had  accomplished  his  work — the  number 
of  his  days  on  earth  was  completed — and  the  God  of 
Israel  honoured  the  fidelity  of  his  servant  by  a  tri- 
umphant and  extraordinary  ascension  to  the  land  of 
rest.  It  was  in  the  waters  of  Jordan  that  the  leprous 
captain  of  the  host  of  Syria  dipped  himself  seven 
times,  at  the  command  of  Elisha,  "  and  his  flesh  came 
again  like  unto  the  flesh  of  a  little  child,  and  he  was 
clean."  In  the  poetry  of  all  nations,  rivers  have  held 
a  conspicuous  place.  They  have  been  sung  of  as  sug- 
gestive of  fruitfuhiess,  and  beauty,  and  power,  and 
the  flight  of  time.  In  the  impassioned  strains  of  the 
northern  bards,  in  the  gentle  songs  of  the  south,  and 
in  the  gorgeous  poetry  of  the  east,  rivers  have  been 
celebrated;  and  in  the  magnificent  poetry  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  in  inspired  song,  Jordan  has  been  im- 
mortalized. In  one  of  his  plaintive  poems,  written 
when  "his  soul  was  cast  down  within  him," — and 
some  of  the  most  ethereal  poetry  in  our  own  and 
other  lands,  has  gushed  from  torn  hearts,  as  some 
flowers  when  crushed  emit  the  most  pleasant  odour 
— the  sweet  singer  of  Israel  was  suddenly  encouraged 
to  renew  confidence  in  God,  by  the  remembrance 
of  mercies  associated  with  the  Jordan.     And  in  one 


64  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  the  hymns  which  used  to  be  sung  at  the  Passover, 
and  at  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  commemorative,  the 
former,  of  the  dehverance  from  Egypt,  and  the  latter 
of  the  wilderness  journey,  the  following  abrupt  and 
striking  references  to  this  famous  river  are  found. 
"When  Israel  went  out  of  Egypt,  the  house  of 
Jacob  from  a  people  of  strange  language ;  Judah 
was  his  sanctuary,  and  Israel  his  dominion.  The 
sea  saw  it  and  fled.  Jordan  was  driven  back. 
What  ailed  thee,  0,  thou  sea,  that  thou  fleddest? 
thou  Jordan,  that  thou  wast  driven  back?"  The 
image  of  a  river  rapidly  overflowing  its  banks,  and 
bearing  all  before  it,  is  a  fine  poetical  representation 
of  warlike  ravages.  In  the  writings  of  Jeremiah, 
these  solemn  questions  occiu-:  "If  thou  hadst  run 
with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied  thee,  then 
how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses  ?  And  if  in  the 
land  of  peace,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  tiiey  wearied 
thee,  then  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jor- 
dan ?"  There  are  many  other  allusions  to  this  river 
in  the  prophetic  writings,  and  here,  it  is  well  known, 
the  dauntless  foreunner  of  the  Son  of  God  spent 
much  of  his  time,  and  preached  the  baptism  of  re- 
pentance to  thronging  multitudes  of  Jews.  Here, 
too,  Christ  was  baptized,  the  Spirit  of  God  descended 
upon  him,  and  a  voice  from  heaven  said,  "  This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

Jesus  was  now  about  thirty  years  of  age.  For 
eighteen  years,  that  is,  from  his  appearance  in  the 
temple,  already  referred  to,  until  his  baptism  by 
John,  there  is  no  record  concerning  him.  We  are 
simply  told,  that  after  the  visit  to  the  temple,  when 
he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  he  went  down  to  Na- 


THE    JORDAN.  65 

zareth  with  Joseph  and  his  mother,  and  was  subject 
unto  them.  His  pure  mind  was  not  excited  by  the 
praises  bestowed  on  him  in  the  temple,  but  in  love 
and  obedience  he  passed  the  period  of  his  youth. 
Still  the  mind  which  is  attached  to  Jesus  will  pro- 
pose the  question — How  were  those  eighteen  years 
employed  ?  Were  there  any  indications,  in  the  do- 
mestic circle  at  Nazareth,  of  that  extraordinary  cha- 
racter, whose  fame  subsequently  spread  over  Judea 
and  the  whole  east,  filling  all  minds  with  wonder? 
Were  there  any  evidences  of  that  wisdom  and  elo- 
quence which  afterwards  bound  the  multitude  in 
breathless  attention,  and  induced  the  exclamation, 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man?"  Were  there 
any  ministering  angels  sent  to  converse  with  him, 
on  the  plains  of  Galilee,  during  the  stillness  of  even- 
ing? That  in  the  days  of  his  innocence  the  first 
Adam  was  visited  by  angelic  beings  we  do  not  doubt; 
and  the  success  of  the  tempter,  if  he  came  as  an 
angel  of  light,  which  we  think  probable,  may  be 
partly  accounted  for,  on  the  supposition  that  angelic 
visits  were  no  uncommon  occurrences  in  the  expe- 
rience of  the  first  human  pair,  prior  to  their  awful 
fall.  Was  Jesus,  the  second  Adam,  thus  visited  ? 
And  did  Satan,  aware  of  it,  appear  to  him  also  as  an 
angel  of  hght  during  the  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness, after  his  baptism  ?  Affirmation  on  these  topics 
would  be  rash;  they  are  merely  suggested  as  the 
result  of  an  impression  that  such  may  have  been  the 
case.  To  return,  therefore  to  those  intervening 
years ;  whether  God  spake  to  his  Son  by  angel,  by 
dream,  by  vision,  or  by  an  audible  voice,  or  whether 
there   were  no   such  manifestation,  the   manner   in 

6* 


66  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

which  his  mind  would  be  employed,  and  the  sub- 
jects that  would  chiefly  occupy  his  thoughts,  it  is  not 
impossible,  it  is  not  difficult,  to  conceive.  He  had 
before  him  the  law  of  God.  Its  spirituality,  com- 
prehensiveness, accordance  with  the  Divine  charac- 
ter, and  suitability  to  the  human  mind,  would  unfold 
themselves  to  his  sinless  intellect.  He  had  before 
him  the  Levitical  code,  with  all  its  mysterious  enact- 
ments, types,  shadows,  and  sacrifices.  The  mystery 
would  vanish  before  him,  the  type  would  give  place 
to  the  antitype,  the  shadow  to  the  substance,  and 
the  great  moral  truths  involved  in  the  institution  of 
sacrifice,  would  arrange  themselves  harmoniously 
before  his  pure  mind.  He  had  before  him  the 
prophetic  rolls.  Their  wondrous  announcements  re- 
garding the  character,  teaching,  experience,  work, 
death,  and  destiny  of  the  Messiah,  would  shine  in 
eff*ulgent  light  around  his  holy  soul.  He  had  before 
him  the  history  of  the  most  celebrated  nation  under 
heaven.  He  saw  it  full  of  evidence  of  human  folly, 
and  of  Divine  mercy.  To  that  history,  the  most 
marvellous  chapter  had  yet  to  be  added  in  "the 
things  concerning  himself."  On  him,  from  a  thou- 
sand points,  prophetic  thoughts  converged.  Eternal 
decrees  regarded  him.  The  eyes  of  God  were  on 
him.  The  angels  who  ministered  at  his  birth  had 
not  forgotten  him.  And  he  kneiv  all  this !  What 
subjects  for  the  thoughts  of  such  a  thinker!  He 
had  before  him  the  character  of  the  Jews.  And 
how  sad  the  picture!  Instead  of  spiritual  religion, 
form.  Instead  of  the  law  of  God,  tradition.  Instead 
of  devotion,  ceremonies.  Instead  of  justice,  selfish- 
ness.    Instead    of  mercy,   cruelty.     Instead   of  sin- 


THE    JORDAN.  67 

cerity,  hypocrisy.  Instead  of  purity,  vice.  Priests 
and  people  were  sunk  to  the  lowest  depths.  The 
temple  was  a  house  of  merchandise.  The  law  was 
a  dead  letter.  The  deterioration  was  complete. 
There  wanted  only  one  drop  to  make  the  cup  of 
national  iniquity  full.  God  had  sent  to  them,  "  last 
of  all,"  his  Son.  "  This  is  the  heir,"  said  they, 
"come  let  us  kill  him!"  They  did  so;  and  the 
wrath  of  God  fell  on  them,  and  scattered  them  over 
the  surface  of  the  globe,  where  they  have  wandered 
for  eighteen  centuries  without  assimilating  with  the 
nations,  universally  known,  all  but  universally  shmi- 
ned,  and  alas !  seldom  pitied.  The  cloud  still  hangs 
over  them,  the  mark  is  still  on  their  foreheads !  Jesus 
saw  the  picture,  and  knew  the  dreary  prospects  of 
the  infatuated  nation.  He  kneiv  that  he  was  set 
for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel.  That 
"his  soul  wept  in  secret  places  for  them,"  long 
before  those  memorable  tears  fell  at  the  sight  of 
Jerusalem,  and  long  before  the  God  of  heaven  at- 
tested his  Messiahship  on  the  banks  of  Jordan,  we 
cannot  doubt. 

That  such  were  some  of  the  mental  pursuits  of 
Messiah  before  he  came  forth  to  the  gaze  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  from  which  his  fame  was  to  radiate 
to  every  district  of  the  wide  earth,  cannot  be  doubted. 
The  sun  of  righteousness  arose  in  the  east,  the 
favoiured  land,  "a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and 
the  glory  of  his  people  Israel."  In  the  full  strength 
of  manhood,  with  his  intellectual  powers  developed, 
his  holy  heart  beating  ardently  for  the  welfare  of 
mankind,  and  zeal  for  his  Father's  glory  "  eating 
him    up,"  he   appeared  among  men.      But  first  a 


68  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

public  recogjiition  of  his  claims  on  the  hearts  and 
understandings  of  men  was  deemed  necessary.  To 
the  •  objection  of  the  surprised  Baptist,  "  I  have 
need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and  comest  thou  to  me  ?" 
Jesus  replied,  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now:  for  thus  it 
becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness."  Some  have 
supposed  that  this  relates  to  the  law  which  com- 
manded the  washing  of  the  priests  before  inaugura- 
tion, and  that  Jesus  fulfilled  this  law  as  the  great 
High  Priest.  "  By  this,"  says  Doddridge,  "  He 
intended  to  do  an  honour  to  John's  ministry,  and  to 
conform  himself  to  what  he  appointed  to  his  follow- 
ers :  for  which  last  reason  it  was,  that  he  drank  like- 
wise of  the  sacramental  cup.  And  this  we  may  con- 
sider as  a  plain  argument,  that  baptism  may  be  ad- 
ministered to  those  who  are  not  capable  of  all  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  designed."  With  the  first 
part  of  this  note  there  will  be  general  agreement; 
the  last  part  appears  to  us  too  precarious  a  foundation 
on  which  to  build  any  theory.  The  note  of  Albert 
Barnes  is  very  satisfactory : — "  There  was  no  par- 
ticular precept  in  the  Old  Testament  requiring  this, 
but  he  chose  to  give  the  sanction  of  his  example  to 
the  baptism  of  John,  as  to  a  divine  ordinance.  The 
phrase  'all  righteousness,'  here,  is  the  same  as  a 
righteous  institution  or  appointment.  Jesus  had  no 
sin.  But  he  was  about  to  enter  on  his  great  work. 
It  was  proper  that  he  should  be  set  apart  by  his 
forerunner,  and  show  his  connexion  with  him,  and 
give  his  approbation  to  what  John  had  done.  Also, 
he  was  baptized  that  occasion  might  be  taken,  at  the 
commencement  of  his  work,  for  God  publicly  to 
declare  his  approbation  of  him,  and  his  solemn  ap- 


THE    JORDAN.  69 

pointment  to  the  office  of  the  Messiah."  This,  we 
think,  is  the  true  interpretation  of  Christ's  baptism. 
It  was  an  acknowledgment  of  his  harbinger.  It  gave 
the  opportunity  for  a  recognition  of  himself  as  the 
Messiah. 

The  Spirit  of  God  descended  and  remained  upon 
him.  God  himself,  by  an  audible  voice  from  heaven, 
attested  his  Sonship  and  character.  The  Baptist 
had  the  evidence  that  He  of  whom  he  spake  had 
burst  from  obscurity,  and  now  he  could  say  to  his 
disciples,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God!"  These  oc- 
currences gave  a  new  and  glorious  feature  to  the 
moral  revolution  which  was  taking  place  in  society. 
The  herald  must  no  longer  occupy  the  chief  position. 
The  Master  had  come.  His  appearance  was  the 
signal  for  a  higher  range  of  thought.  The  baptism 
of  repentance  must  give  place  to  the  baptism  of  the 
Spirit.  "  He  must  increase,"  said  John,  "  but  I 
must  decrease."  "  He  that  cometh  from  heaven  is 
above  all."  The  system  of  redemption  was  develop- 
ing. The  forerunner  had  said,  as  "  the  voice  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  Make  straight  the  way  of 
the  Lord.  I  am  not  the  Christ.  I  am  sent  before 
him.  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose  the  latchet  of  his 
shoe."  He  had  said  unto  the  cities  of  Judah,  "Be- 
hold your  God !"  Circumstances  had  spoken ;  the 
signs  of  the  times  had  spoken;  the  forerunner  of 
Jesus  had  spoken;  and  now  from  the  heavenly  world 
the  voice  of  the  eternal  God  speaks : — "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  is  thus  openly  declared  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
whom  "Moses,  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets  did 
write."     The  heavenly  attestation  completes  the  chain 


70  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  evidence  thus  far.  There  are  other  Hnks  to  be 
added  to  it,  but  already  everything  concurs  to  arrest 
thought  and  fix  it  on  Jesus.  The  voice  of  heaven 
aids  no  irnposter.     "  This  is  the  Son  of  God!" 

With  what  reverence  should  the  mind  of  the  be- 
liever fix  on  these  events!  With  what  gratitude 
should  he  view  them,  and  with  what  elevating  senti- 
ments are  they  fitted  to  inspire  him  !  Reverence — for 
here  meet  in  one  glorious  point,  providence  and 
grace,  deity  and  humanity,  earth  and  heaven,  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Spirit!  Gratitude — for  all 
things  concur  in  establishing  his  faith  on  that  solid 
foundation  which  is  laid  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in 
warming  his  spirit  towards  the  God  of  salvation, 
who  has  left  no  evidence  to  be  desired  further,  for 
the  reality  of  those  truths  which  he  values  above 
life.  And  with  what  elevating  sentiments  are  these 
facts  fitted  to  inspire  him;  for  they  all  speak  of  that 
region  of  holy  thought  which  the  mind  of  God  oc- 
cupied from  eternity,  regarding  the  Messiah  and  his 
work,  Christ  and  his  church,  salvation  and  its  re- 
sults. The  more  these  verities  are  studied,  the  more 
they  purify  the  mind  of  the  student.  This  is  among 
the  concurrent  proofs  that  Christianity  is  from  the 
holy  God,  that  the  more  Christ  is  known,  the  more 
Christ-like  the  mind  that  knows  him  becomes.  Evi- 
dence grows  with  communion.  Assimilation  follows 
devotion.  Love  advances  with  spiritual  knowledge. 
The  intellect  expands  as  the  heart  warms.  The  sub- 
ject of  study  is  high  and  pure.  The  result  of  study 
is  purity  and  elevation.  The  heart  and  the  head 
grow  together,  until  the  soul,  ripe  for  glory,  by  the 


THE    JORDAN.  71 

work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  shakes  off  "  this  tabernacle," 
and  flies  to  heaven  to  be  present  with  its  Lord ! 

And  how  must  this  heavenly  attestation  have  ani- 
mated the  mhid  of  Jesus?  He  had  fulfilled  all  right- 
eousness. He  had  received  a  double  baptism.  The 
water  and  the  Spirit  had  been  shed  upon  him.  And 
now  his  Father's  approval  greets  his  ear.  The 
Spirit  is  to  lead  him  to  the  wilderness,  but  his  soul 
is  resolved  on  triumph;  the  voice  of  God  encourages 
him;  "his  work  is  before  him;"  he  shall  not  fail 
nor  be  discouraged,  till  he  have  set  judgment  in  the 
earth;  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law.  At  this 
period  his  mind  would  be  intensely  occupied.  The 
past  would  be  recalled,  the  present  surveyed,  and 
the  future  summoned  to  his  presence.  He  ha.d  pub- 
licly dedicated  himself  to  the  greatest  of  all  works — 
the  bringing  in  of  the  new  economy — the  abrogation 
of  the  ceremonial  law — the  establishment  of  the 
Christian  dispensation — the  diff'usion  of  spiritual  truth 
— the  revelation  of  things  kept  secret  since  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world — the  offering  of  an  all-perfect 
sacrifice — the  ratification  of  the  covenant  of  peace — 
the  destruction  of  the  power  of  Satan — the  abolition 
of  death,  and  the  opening  of  the  new  Jerusalem  to 
every  believing  inhabitant  of  this  earth.  Heaven 
and  earth  had  witnessed  that  dedication.  The  "  Man 
sent  from  God"  had  applied  its  symbol,  the  Spirit  of 
God  had  applied  the  seal,  and  God  himself  audibly 
declared  his  approval  of  this  dedication.  There  can 
be  nothing  more  delightful  to  the  mind  of  a  holy 
being  than  the  approbation  of  God.  This  is  well 
described  by  Milton  in  the  case  of  Abdiel,  to  whom — 


72  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

"A  voice 
From  'midst  a  golden  cloud  then  mild  was  heard  : 

Servant  of  God,  well  done!  well  hast  thou  fought 
The  better  fight,  who  singly  hast  maintained 
Against  revolted  multitudes  the  cause 
Of  truth,  in  word  mightier  than  they  in  arms; 
And  for  the  testimony  of  truth  hast  borne 
Universal  reproach — far  worse  to  bear 
Than  violence;   for  this  was  all  thy  care, 
To  stand  approved  in  sight  of  God,  though  worlds 
Judged  thee  perverse." 

And  how  would  the  holy  soul  of  the  Redeemer 
rejoice,  that  his  voluntary  dedication  of  himself  to 
the  service  of  God,  in  a  world  where  reproach,  suf- 
ferings, and  death  awaited  him,  was  thus  publicly 
and  miraculously  accepted!  He  had  the  approval 
of  his  Father.  He  was  baptized  with  the  Spirit 
"above  measure."  Temptation  was  at  hand;  but 
he  went  forth,  "  travelling  in  the  greatness  of  his 
strength,"  the  anointed  One  "  mighty  to  save." 

With  what  consummate  wisdom  all  things  con- 
nected with  the  great  salvation  are  arranged !  Every 
step  in  the  progress  of  Messiah  is  associated  with 
circumstances  tending  to  develope  the  infinite  love  of 
God  to  our  fallen  race.  Evidence,  the  most  com- 
plete and  convincing,  rushes  in  from  every  part  of 
the  historical  narrative,  that  Jesus  is  the  messenger 
of  the  covenant.  And  that  evidence  harmonizes  in 
character  with  the  truths  to  which  it  relates.  Are 
those  truths  of  the  highest  intellectual  character? 
The  evidence  is  such  as  to  satisfy  the  profoundest 
thinkers  of  the  human  race.  There  is  nothing  little, 
nothing  unworthy  of  the  theme.  All  is  great;  all  is 
worthy  of  God.    The  ethereal  Isaiah  predicts  that  a 


THE    JORDAN.  73 

voice  shall  cry  in  the  wilderness:  "Prepare  yc  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  high- 
way for  OLir  God."  Seven  centuries  afterwards,  the 
noble  minded  Baptist  appears  v/ith  this  message  as 
the  harbinger  of  the  Redeemer.  Holy  angels  are 
employed  as  the  messengers  of  heaven  regarding 
both  John  and  Jesus;  and  God  himself  is,  at  last, 
heard  speaking  in  a  language  understood  by  men: 
«  This  is  my  beloved  Son."  How  exalted,  how  great 
is  all  this !  Are  those  truths  of  the  highest  moral 
character?  The  evidence  is  such  as  to  satisfy  the 
purest  mind.  All  is  holy.  The  mother  of  Jesus 
was  a  virgin.  Joseph  was  "a  just  man."  Zacharias 
and  Elizabeth,  the  parents  of  the  Baptist,  "  were  both 
righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the  command- 
ments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless."  John 
himself  was  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  from  his 
mother's  womb."  The  aged  Simeon  "was  just  and 
devout,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  was  upon  him."  Anna, 
the  prophetess,  "served  God  with  fastings  and 
prayers,  night  and  day."  Jesus  himself  did  no  sin, 
neither  was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth.  He  was  the 
Holy  One  of  God.  How  pure  the  sources  of  tes- 
timony! How  impossible  deception  through  such 
channels!  Are  those  truths  of  a  supernatural  cha- 
racter! Supernatural  evidence  is  afforded.  God 
speaks  by  his  prophets.  Centuries  afterwards,  place, 
time,  and  circumstances  concur,  despite  all  human 
probability,  in  the  fulfilment  of  those  predictions.  A 
woman,  stricken  in  years,  becomes  the  mother  of 
John  the  Baptist,  though  previously  she  had  had  no 
child,  in  accordance  with  the  announcement  of  an 
angel  who  appears  to  Zacharias,  standing  on  the  right 

7 


74  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP   MESSIAH. 

side  of  the  altar  of  incense.  Zacharias,  doubting 
whether  he  should  have  a  child  in  his  old  age,  asks  a 
sign.  He  is  struck  dumb  until  the  promised  child 
is  eight  days  old,  and,  after  writing  the  prescribed 
name  of  his  son,  "his  mouth  was  opened  imme- 
diately, and  his  tongue  loosed,  and  he  spake  and 
praised  God."  That  Jesus  should  be  born  was  like- 
wise announced  by  an  angel  to  his  virgin  mother. 
An  angel  revealed  his  birth  to  a  group  of  Jewish 
shepherds.  A  multitude  of  angels  followed  the  in- 
telligence by  a  song  of  joy.  A  new  star  summoned 
to  Judea  a  party  of  philosophers  from  a  distant  land. 
The  murderous  intentions  of  Herod  regarding  the 
new  king  were  frustrated  by  the  intervention  of  an 
angel,  as  the  messenger  of  God.  The  baptism  at 
Jordan  took  place,  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on 
Jesus  in  a  bodily  shape,  and  the  great  God  spoke 
from  the  opened  heavens.  All  this  was  superna- 
tural, in  harmony  with  the  divine  character  of 
Christianity,  and  of  its  glorious  Founder.  "  Truly, 
this  is  the  Son  of  God!" 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE      WILDERNESS. 


THE   TEMPTER    FOILED. 


The  sacred  historian  says,  that  Jesus,  after  his  bap- 
tism, "  was  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness, 
to  be  tempted  of  the  devil."  In  the  English  lan- 
guage, the  word  wilderness  signifies,  a  wild  and  un- 
inhabited region,  a  sterile  tract  of  land,  or  a  place  of 
boundless  forests.  Milton  uses  it  as  synonymous 
with  wildness : — 

"  Their  glittering  tents  he  passed,  and  now  is  come 
Into  the  blissful  field,  through  groves  of  myrrh 
And  flowering  odours,  cassia,  nard,  and  balm: 
A  wilderness  of  sweets ;  for  Nature  here 
Wanton'd  as  in  her  prime,  and  played  at  will 
Her  virgin  fancies,  pouring  forth  more  sweet, 
Wild  above  rule  or  art,  enormous  bliss." 

And  also,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  Paradise  Lost, 
Adam  is  represented  as  saying  to  Eve, 

"  These  paths  and  bowers,  doubt  not,  but  our  joint  hands 
Will  keep  from  wilderness  with  ease,  as  wide 
As  we  need  walk." 

In  the  evangelical  history,  however,  the  word 
translated  wilderness,  means  a  rough  and  thinly 
peopled  country — a  country  comparatively  unin- 
habited, and  better  adapted  for  pasture  than  tilling. 
There  were  inhabitants,  and  even  villages,  in  what  is 
called  in  Scripture  a  wilderness.     We  read  of  "  six 


76  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF   MESSIAH. 

cities,  with  their  villages,"  in  a  district  bearing  this 
name  in  the  days  of  Joshua.  The  wilderness  of 
Judea  stretched  along  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea 
to  the  east  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  rough,  rocky,  and 
mountainous.  We  are  told  in  the  Book  of  Judges, 
that  "  the  children  of  the  Kenite,  Moses'  father-in- 
law,  went  up  out  of  the  city  of  palm  trees  with  the 
children  of  Judah  into  the  wilderness  of  Judah, 
which  lieth  in  the  south  of  Arad."  The  sixty-third 
Psalm,  written  probably  during  the  rebellion  of  Ab- 
salom, has  this  title,  '-'A  Psalm  of  David,  when  lie 
was  in  the  wilderness  of  Judah,"  and  the  imagery 
employed  in  its  first  verse  is  strikingly  appropriate 
for  such  a  place:  "0,  God,  thou  art  my  God;  early 
will  I  seek  thee;  my  soul  thirsteth  for  thee,  my  flesh 
longeth  for  thee  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land,  where  no 
water  is,"  A  rocky,  uncultivated,  and  thinly  inha- 
bited country  was  well  fitted  to  suggest  this  simile  to 
the  mind  of  David.  It  was  to  some  such  region 
that  Jesus  was  led  by  the  Spirit,  and,  doubtless,  to 
the  wildest  part  of  it;  for  he  was  "  with  the  wild 
beasts." 

"  He  entered  now  the  bordering  desert  wild, 
And  with  dark  shades  and  rocks  environed  round, 
His  holy  meditations  thus  pursued,"  &,c. 

Good  and  evil,  it  has  been  maintained,  are,  among 
all  nations,  relative  terms.  But  we  must  have 
a  standard.  The  character  of  God  is  the  highest 
good;  the  law  of  God  is  the  rule  of  right  to 
all  creatures;  and  in  proportion  to  obedience  to 
this  law,  and  approximation  to  this  character  on 
the  part  of  any  being,  he  becomes  a  holy  being; 
whilst  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  rebellion  against 


THE    WILDERNESS.  77 

this  law,  and  opposition  to  this  character,  on  the 
part  of  any  being,  he  becomes  a  sinful  being.  There 
is  evil  in  the  universe,  and  it  works  in  the  region  of 
mind  with  peculiar  force.  This  is  the  scene  of  its 
terrible  exploits;  and  its  power  is  measured  by  the 
distance  from  God's  moral  character,  to  which  it 
draws  or  drives  any  creature.  Those  who  are  under 
its  power,  are  said  to  be  "far  off."  There  are  two 
opposite  principles  constantly  at  work.  "  The  flesh 
lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the 
flesh;  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other;" 
and  those  who  are  influenced  by  the  grace  of 
Christ  are  said  to  be  "  made  nigh."  The  position 
of  any  creature  is  determined  by  his  moral  character. 
"  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God."  "  The  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell."  "  They  that  be  wise  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  for  ever 
and  ever;"  but  "they  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  from  the  glory  of  his  power."  Holiness  and 
sin,  grace  and  temptation,  man's  Redeemer,  and 
man's  adversary,  are  operating  on  the  human  mind. 
The  moral  character  is  now  forming  for  eternity. 
This  world  is  the  scene  of  this  formation.  This  is 
the  period  of  our  probation.  But  we  cannot  con- 
ceive of  probation  without  temptation.  They  are 
correlatives.  In  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  re- 
demption is  offered  to  men,  but  men  are  accountable 
beings  and  moral  agents;  hence  life  and  death  are 
set  before  them;  life,  the  free  gift  of  God;  death, 
the  proper  result  of  sin;  and  they  are  commanded 


78  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

to  choose  which  they  will  have.  "Temptation  is 
common  to  men,"  as  it  must  be  to  any  race  of  ac- 
countable beings  placed  in  circumstances  where,  on 
specified  conditions,  there  are  before  them  the  alter- 
natives of  future  honour  or  disgrace  in  the  moral  uni- 
verse. The  idea  of  a  test  of  obedience  is  involved  iu 
the  idea  of  accountability.  There  was  such  a  test 
for  Adam  in  his  sinless  state,  and  it  was  necessary 
there  should  be,  for  what  is  obedience  without  it? 
Commands  and  prohibitions  relate  to  each  other; 
they  both  emanate  from  the  same  righteous  author- 
ity; the  former  require  the  activity  of  the  will,  in 
the  pursuit  of  right;  the  latter  require  the  resistance 
of  the  will  against  wrong.  Those  say,  do;  these  say, 
abstain  from  doing;  and,  under  the  present  most 
gracious  economy,  the  precepts  are  "  follow  Christ," 
and  "  resist  the  devil."  There  is  a  great  tempter  in 
the  world,  going  up  and  down  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour ;  but  there  is  a  greater  Saviour,  who 
came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  and  whose 
grace  is  sufficient  for  his  tempted  people;  let  them, 
therefore,  "  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power 
of  his  might."  To  them  the  injunction  is,  "Put  on 
the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  For  we  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places.  Wherefore,  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil 
day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand,  therefore, 
having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on 
the  breastplate  of  righteousness;  and  your  feet  shod 


THE    WILDERNESS.  79 

witli  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace;  above 
all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be 
able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked.  And 
take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God." 

It  was  with  this  weapon  that  Jesus  triumphed  over 
the  temptations  of  Satan  in  the  wilderness,  on  the 
temple,  and  on  the  high  mountain;  and  in  this  re- 
spect, as  in  many  others,  he  has  left  his  people  an 
example  for  imitation.  That  sinless  beings,  as  well 
as  depraved  man,  may  be  tempted  to  evil,  is  evident 
from  the  apostasy  of  "  the  angels  who  kept  not  their 
first  estate,"  from  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  and 
from  the  attempt  made  on  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  the 
authority  of  God  is  the  rule  of  conduct  for  all  crea- 
tures, and  the  Word  of  God  the  weapon  with  which 
the  adversary  is  to  be  repelled,  is  evident  from  the 
conduct  of  the  Saviour  during  his  temptation.  The 
tempter  himself  recognised  that  authority.  He  se- 
lected passages  of  Scripture,  by  the  false  application 
of  which  he  hoped  to  induce  the  Son  of  God  to 
swerve  from  allegiance  to  his  Father.  The  tempter 
was  foiled.  His  effort  was  vain.  He  had  to  contend 
with  holiness  too  pure,  and  wisdom  too  great,  for  his 
wiles.  The  idea  of  his  success  fills  the  mind  with 
horror.  It  cannot  be  contemplated  without  a  shudder. 
The  consequences  would  have  been  disastrous  in 
earth  and  in  heaven.  The  purposes  of  Jehovah 
would  have  been  frustrated,  his  government  thrown 
into  disorder,  prophecy  proved  false,  the  hopes  of 
the  pious  for  ever  blasted,  and  a  part  of  God's  do- 
minions for  ever  wrested  from  his  sceptre!  For  this 
dire  consummation  the  devil  longed; — to   this  end 


80  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

his  diabolical  malignity  arranged  its  plans  of  attack; 
he  saw  before  him  the  woman's  seed ;  he  remembered 
well  the  denunciation  in  paradise;  to  render  that 
denunciation  abortive,  by  leading  his  destined  con- 
queror into  sin,  was  the  gigantic  crime  he  now  con- 
templated. He  had  fought  against  God  for  ages ;  he 
had  dragged  to  perdition  a  multitude  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  heaven;  he  had  triumphed  in  paradise, 
and  turned  our  world  into  a  great  burial  ground, 
and  seduced  its  inhabitants  into  open  rebellion;  but 
what  was  all  this  compared  to  the  ruin  of  God's  be- 
loved Son?  To  realize  this,  all  the  energy  of  his 
great  bad  mind  is  summoned  into  action  ;  but  success 
must  be  by  temptation — force  is  folly — there  must 
be  consent  on  the  part  of  the  tempted  one — otherwise 
there  is  no  sin; — once,  again,  and  a  third  time,  he 
tries,  and  the  result  is,  the  complete  failure  of  this 
dark  enemy  of  God  and  men,  and  the  glorious  victory 
of  our  ever  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
Witnessing  angels,  the  messengers  of  an  approving 
God,  fled  to  his  feet  to  minister  to  him,  and  thus  his 
first  struggle  with  the  power  of  darkness,  after  the 
declaration  of  his  Messiahship  on  the  banks  of  Jordan, 
gloriously  terminated. 

But  let  us  view  this  temptation  in  another  light. 
Jesus  was  "  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant."  He 
was  the  substitute  of  his  people.  His  sufferings 
were  vicarious.  He  was  the  Redeemer  of  the 
tempted,  and  "in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered 
being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
tempted."  This  is  the  use  the  writer  of  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  makes  of  it.  Again,  "  for  we  have 
not  a  high  priest  who  cannot  be  touched  with   the 


THE    WILDERNESS.  81 

feeling  of  our  infirmities;  but  was  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."  Again, 
"Though  he  were  a  son,  yet  learned  he  obedience 
by  the  things  which  he  suffered ;  and  being  made 
perfect,  he  became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation 
unto  all  them  that  obey  him;"  that  is,  sufferings 
similar  to  those  which  his  people  endure,  were  ne- 
cessary to  the  perfection  or  completeness  of  his 
mediatorial  character.  As  the  Son  of  God,  he 
needed  no  moral  training,  yet  he  submitted  to 
suffering,  adding  the  element  of  painful  experience  to 
his  knowledge,  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  sympa- 
thize with  his  people. 

"  Touched  with  a  sympathy  within, 
He  knows  our  feeble  frame; 
He  knows  what  sore  temptations  mean, 
For  he  has  felt  the  same." 

He  came  to  our  world,  took  upon  him  our  nature, 
combated  the  foe  on  our  earth,  submitted  to  those 
temptations  which  harass,  and  to  those  trials  which 
distress  us,  wept  with  us,  dwelt  mnong  us,  gave 
himself  ybr  us,  was  made  a  curse ybr  tis,  finished  the 
work  of  redemption  for  us,  destroyed  the  works  of 
the  devil  and  spoiled  death,  and  led  captivity  cap- 
tive for  us,  and  now,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Ma- 
jesty in  the  heavens,  he  intercedes  for  us.  All  this 
is  explicable  on  the  mediatorial  principle,  not  other- 
wise. In  this  light  these  facts  can  be  read,  but  in 
none  other.  And  beautiful  and  wonderful  are  these 
truths,  thus  viewed  !  To  gaze  at  them  thus,  is  to 
catch  their  import,  and  to  be  sanctified  by  their  in- 
fluence ! 


/ 


82  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

And  the  triumph  of  Jesus  over  the  tempter,  is  a 
pledge  of  his  people's  final  deliverance  from  the 
snares  and  wiles  of  this  malignant  foe.  It  was  the 
Head  of  the  Church  that  gained  this  memorable 
victory ;  and  as  surely  as  he  overcame,  so  shall  they, 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  and  reliance  on  his 
strength.  He  who  was  asked  to  make  bread  to 
satisfy  his  hunger,  will  give  the  bread  of  life  for  ever 
to  his  people.  "  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither 
thirst  any  more :  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto 
living  fountains  of  waters;  and  God  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes."  He  who  was  asked  to 
cast  himself  from  the  battlement  of  the  temple,  will 
hurl  Satan  from  the  battlements  of  earth,  and  purify 
the  scene  of  his  own  sufferings  and  victory  from  all 
the  pollutions  of  Satan  and  his  angels,  and  will  lay 
hold  on  that  old  serpent,  and  bind  him,  and  cast  him 
into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him,  that 
he  deceive  the  nations  no  more.  He  to  whom  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world  and  their  glory  was  offered, 
on  condition  that  he  would  worship  the  tempter,  will 
give  "  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness 
of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  king- 
dom is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions 
shall  serve  and  obey  him."  His  "throne  is  for  ever 
and  ever;  the  sceptre  of  his  kingdom  is  a  right 
sceptre."  He  is  now  "in  his  majesty  riding  pros- 
perously, because  of  truth  and  meekness  and  right- 
eousness; and  his  right  hand  teaches  him  terrible 
things."    He  is  going  from  victory  to  victory.    Ethio- 


THE    WILDERNESS.  83 

pia  is  stretching  out  her  hands  to  him;  the  kings  of 
Tarshish  and  of  the  isles  are  bringing  presents;  the 
daughter  of  Tyre  is  coming  with  a  gift;  the  rich 
among  the  people  are  entreating  his  favour ;  and  the 
concave  of  those  heavens  which  were  covered  with 
sackcloth  when  the  Son  of  God  was  crucified,  shall 
soon  ring  with  a  voice  as  of  mighty  thunderings  in 
honour  of  his  universal  sovereignty,  "Alleluia:  for 
the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth!" 

Temptation  ceases  when  the  soul  of  the  believer 
leaves  this  world.  The  time  of  probation  over,  he 
shall  "enter  into  rest."  The  fight  honourably  con- 
cluded, he  shall  be  crowned  a  victor.  The  region 
of  faith  passed,  he  shall  see  his  Lord.  Having  over- 
come, he  shall  be  made  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  his 
God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out;  "and  I  will 
write  upon  him,"  says  Jesus,  "  the  name  of  my  God, 
and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  which  is  new 
Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from 
my  God:  and  I  will  write  upon  him  my  new  name." 
"  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me 
in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set 
down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne."  Here,  then, 
are  preliminary  and  sequel;  the  work  of  time  and 
the  reward  of  eternity;  the  wrestle  with  the  enemy 
and  the  rest  after  victory;  first  the  well  fought  field, 
and  then  the  laurel;  first  the  toils  of  the  vineyard, 
and  then  the  "pay;"  first  fidelity,  and  then  the 
"well  done!" 

This  is  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  spiritual  de- 
velopment. From  the  ruins  of  the  fall,  and  the  de- 
gradation of  sin,  God  raises  his  people.  He  ad- 
ministers   to  them  "correction    and    instruction    in 


84  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

righteousness."  He  subjects  them  to  frequent  provi- 
dential trials;  but  it  is  the  furnace  that  purifies  the 
gold.  He  allows  them  to  feel  the  beating  of  the 
storms  of  the  wilderness;  but  they  are  "rooted  in 
Christ."  They  are  often  assaulted  by  Satanic  tempta- 
tion; but  they  are  instructed  to  "look  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  their  faith;  who  for  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  riglit 
hand  of  God."  They  are  apt  to  be  "  wearied  and 
faint  in  their  minds;"  but  they  are  commanded  to 
*' consider  him  that  endured  such  contradiction  of 
sinners  against  himself" 

Their  soul  is  frequently  "  discouraged  because  of 
the  way;"  but  "he  giveth  power  to  the  faint,  and 
to  them  that  have  no  might  he  increaseth  strength. 
Even  the  youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the 
young  men  shall  utterly  fall :  but  they  that  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall  mount 
up  with  wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run,  and  not  be 
•weary;  and  they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint."  Some- 
times they  fear  "  lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage 
of  them;"  but  this  very  apprehension  teaches  them 
to  trust,  not  in  themselves,  but  in  the  fidelity  of  that 
God,  who  has  promised  to  bruise  Satan  under  their 
feet  shortly.  They  are  commanded  to  "be  sober, 
be  vigilant;  because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a 
roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour :  whom  resist  steadfast  in  the  faith,  knowing 
that  the  same  afilictions  are  accomplished  in  your 
brethren  that  are  in  the  world.  But  the  God  of  all 
grace,  who  hath  called  us  unto  his  eternal  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus,  after  that    ye    have   suffered  awhile, 


THE    WILDERNESS.  S5 

make  you  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle  you." 
Thus  the  scene  of  their  trial  becomes  the  school  of 
Christ,  in  which  they  are  trained  for  the  glory  that 
awaits  them.  Grace  is  sufficient  for  them — their 
Master's  strength  is  made  perfect  in  their  weakness — 
but  their  afflictions,  and  trials,  and  temptations, 
teach  them,  or  are  made  instrumental  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  teaching  them,  their  own  weakness,  and 
the  necessity  of  watchfulness,  and  prayer,  and  faith 
in  their  ever  present,  though  invisible,  Redeemer. 
The  tottering  infant  stretches  out  its  little  hand  for 
the  support  which  its  parent  can  give.  The  tried 
Christian,  who  has  been  taught  how  feeble  he  is,  lays 
hold  on  the  strength  of  his  God.  When  the  dis- 
ciples are  in  jeopardy  from  the  violence  of  the  storm, 
they  cry  "Master,  master,  we  perish!"  Thus  faith 
is  trained,  strengthened  and  increased  through  trials. 
Those  things  that  seem  against  them  work  for  their 
good.  This  holds  true  even  of  Satanic  temptation  to 
sin.  Such  temptation  has  driven  many  a  man  to  his 
closet,  and  thrown  him  on  his  knees  before  God.  The 
enemy  meant  not  this.  The  devil  himself  is  thus 
made  to  serve  Christ!  These  facts,  we  have  said, 
accord  with  the  law  of  spiritual  development.  The 
disciple  grows  in  grace,  as  he  feels  his  need  of  it, 
and  becomes  importunate  at  a  throne  of  grace  for  it; 
his  experience  corroborates  the  truth  of  the  scripture, 
that  this  is  not  his  rest;  and  his  anxiety  to  be  pre- 
pared for  "the  rest  that  remaineth,"  increases  with 
that  experience.  He  discovers,  and  the  discovery 
gives  him  in  the  first  instance  many  a  mental  pang, 
that  all  on  earth  "is  vanity."  He  has  found  gall 
where   he    expected    honey,    and    grief   where    ho 

8 


86  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

looked  for  gladnesss,  and  foes  where  he  anticipated 
friends;  and  the  propriety,  and  duty,  and  reason- 
ableness of  setting  his  affections  on  things  above, 
become  thence  more  apparent.  He  finds  his  own 
righteousness  "filthy  rags,"  and  his  desire  increases, 
in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  this  conviction,  to  be 
"found  in  Christ,  not  having  on  his  own  righteous- 
ness, but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ, 
the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith."  He 
finds  that  the  moth  and  rust  corrupt,  and  that  thieves 
steal  earthly  treasures;  and  he  gathers  thence  the 
wisdom  and  kindness  of  his  Redeemer's  advice, 
"Lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where 
neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
theives  do  not  break  through  and  steal;  for  where 
your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also." 
Preparation  for  a  state  of  perfection,  in  the  same 
world  in  which  "man  rebelled  and  lost  his  God," 
and  in  which  he  is  subjected  to  the  fascination  of  a 
vain  world,  and  the  temptations  of  the  great  ad- 
versary of  God  and  his  Christ,  is  an  idea  worthy  of 
him  "who  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in 
working;"  and  the  involuntary  subserviency  of  pre- 
sent evil  to  future  and  eternal  good,  is  among  the 
many  evidences  that  "where  sin  abounds,  grace 
much  more  abounds."  Paul  fully  recognised  this 
most  valuable  truth  in  the  economy  of  restoration; — 
"Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not 
seen:  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal; 
but  the  thinsrs  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal." 


THE    WILDERNESS.  S7 

The  existence  of  moral  evil  in  the  dominions  of 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  though  its  origin  be  to  man 
a  mystery,  and  its  operation  productive  of  indescrib- 
able anguish,  will  be  made  ultimately,  we  believe, 
to  subserve,  not  only  the  highest  interests  of  the  re- 
deemed, in  the  growth  of  holiness  and  the  consequent 
increase  of  happiness,  but  also  the  glory  of  the 
divine  character,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment. To  educe  good  from  good  is  easy.  To 
pluck  grapes  from  the  vine,  and  to  gather  good  fruit 
from  a  good  tree,  are  actions  accomplished  without 
difficulty.  But  to  educe  good  from  evil;  to  bring 
light  out  darkness ;  to  change  the  corrupt  and  self- 
ish heart  of  man  into  a  spring  of  purity  and  love ; 
to  roll  back  the  floods  of  temptation,  and  lay  the 
highway  of  holiness  upon  the  soil  of  a  sin-cursed 
earth;  to  send  a  Redeemer  in  our  nature,  to  grapple 
with  and  overthrow  the  chief  of  the  fallen  spirits, 
in  a  world  over  which  he  boasted  sovereignty,  and 
whose  inhabitants  he  had  seduced  from  loyalty  to 
their  true  king;  to  make  an  atonement  for  sin,  in  a 
world  of  sinners,  by  the  blood  of  a  sinless  man;  to" 
redeem  from  death  through  death;  to  make  the  spi- 
ritually dead,  alive  unto  God;  and  to  determine  that 
the  graves  of  earth  shall  open  and  yield  a  glorious 
harvest  of  spiritual  bodies  to  grace  the  triumphs,  and 
form  the  obedient  subjects  of  Him  who  was  tempted 
by  Satan,  and  crucified  by  sinners — these  are  works 
accomplished  only  by  incomprehensible  wisdom,  infi- 
nite power,  and  love  that  "  passeth  understanding." 
Thus  the  works  of  the  devil  are  destroyed;  and  thus 
holy  angels  and  glorified  men  will  for  ever  bear  wit- 
ness that  the  Temptek  is  foiled. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


THE    PASSOVER. 


THE   HOUSE   OF    GOD   PURIFIED. 


The  mention  of  the  Passover  leads  our  minds  back 
to  a  time  and  circnmstances,  long  prior  to  the  days 
of  Christ's  personal  ministry.  The  imperious  ruler 
of  Egypt,  jealous  of  the  rapid  increase  of  the  de- 
scendants of  Jacob,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that  they 
"were  fruitful,  and  increased  abundantly,  and  mul- 
tiplied, and  waxed  exceeding  mighty,  and  the  land 
was  filled  with  them,"  adopted  the  most  unjust  and 
oppressive  measures  for  the  purpose  of  weakening 
their  power  and  diminishing  their  numbers.  The 
reason  he  assigned  to  his  servants  for  his  conduct  was 
one  of  state  policy.  It  has  long  been  the  habit  of 
rulers  to  attempt  a  justification  of  atrocious  proceed- 
ings on  this  principle.  The  individual  conscience 
has  merged  itself  into  state  expediency,  and  the 
abstract  idea  of  government  has  been  rendered  ac- 
countable for  proceedings,  from  the  perpetration  of 
which  the  individuals  composing  that  government 
would  have  shrunk.  Responsibility  has  been  cleverly 
shifted  from  a  company  of  men  acting  in  a  certain 
capacity,  to  the  word  which  gives  the  idea  of  that 
capacity,  or  from  the  tyrant  to  the  conditions  of  an 
autocracy.     The  king  of  Egypt  said  to  his  people, 


THE    PASSOVER.  89 

"Behold,  the   people   of  the   children  of  Israel  are 
more  and  mightier  than  we;  come   on,  let  us  deal 
wisely  with  them,  lest  they  multiply,  and  it  come  to 
pass,  that,  when  there  falleth  out  any  war,  they  join 
also  unto  our  enemies,  and.  fight  against  us,  and  so 
get  them  up  out  of  the  land."     Such  was  the  stroke 
of  policy;  but  the  expression  "deal  wisely"  meant 
in  the  purpose  of  Pharaoh,  deal  cruelly,  inhumanly, 
murderously.      The  most  determinate  efforts  were 
used  to  crush  the  seed  of  Abraham.     The  word  of  a 
despot  is  law.    The  "wise"  policy  was  speedily  acted 
upon.     Tasks,  impossible  to  be  performed,  were  pre- 
scribed to  the  Israelites.      Crushing  exactions  were 
enforced.     The  task-master,  the  slave-driver,  and  his 
scourge,  were  appointed.      Grievous  burdens   were 
imposed.      "And  the  Egyptians  made   the   children 
of  Israel  serve  with  rigour;  and  they  made   their 
lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage,  in  mortar,  and  in 
brick,  and  in  all  manner  of  service  in  the  field:  all 
their  service,  wherein  they  made  them  serve,  was 
with    rigour."      The  domestic  circle   was  invaded. 
Parental  love  was  disregarded.     The  male  children 
of  the  Israelites  were  ordered  to  be  destroyed  as  soon 
as  born.     Years  rolled  on.      There  was  no   human 
redress  for  these   oppressed   slaves;   but  the  "wise" 
policy,  like   all  proceedings  of  earthly  governments 
which  are  founded  on  injustice,  was  in  vain.     "The 
more  they  afflicted  them,  the  more   they  multiplied 
and  grew."     The  God  of  justice  and  mercy  listened 
to  the  sighs  and  heard  the  groaning  of  the  children 
of  Israel.     Their  cry  came  up  before  him;   and   he 
remembered  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac, 
and  with  Jacob.     And  God  looked  upon  the  children 

8* 


90  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  Israel,  and  God  had  respect  unto  them.  From 
the  midst  of  a  burning,  but  unconsumed  bush,  on 
the  mountain  of  Horeb — strikingly  illustrative  of  the 
state  of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt — he  appeared  to 
Moses,  as  he  watched  the  flock  of  Jethro  in  the  desert. 
He  sent  him  to  Egypt  to  demand  the  liberation  of 
his  people.  He  was  commanded  to  say  to  Pharaoh, 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Israel  is  my  son,  even  my 
first-born ;  and  I  say  unto  thee.  Let  my  son  go,  that 
he  may  serve  me:  and  if  thou  refuse  to  let  him  go, 
behold,  I  will  slay  thy  son,  even  thy  first-born." 
The  haughty  monarch  replied,  "Who  is  the  Lord, 
that  I  should  obey  his  voice  to  let  Israel  go?  I 
know  not  the  Lord,  neither  will  I  let  Israel  go." 
Exasperated  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  emanci- 
pate his  slaves,  the  infatuated  king  gave  orders  "the 
same  day,"  greatly  to  increase  the  hardships  to  which 
his  predecessors  had  subjected  Israel.  The  terrible 
crisis  came.  Egypt  was  visited  by  a  succession  of 
the  most  awful  plagues  from  the  God  of  heaven,  the 
last  of  which  executed  the  threatening,  "I  will  slay 
thy  first-born."  The  Israelites  were  commanded  to 
take  a  lamb,  "every  man  according  to  the  house  of 
their  fathers,  a  lamb  for  an  house,"  and  sprinkle  its 
blood  on  the  two  side  posts,  and  on  the  upper  door- 
post of  their  houses,  that  when  the  Lord  passed 
through  the  land  of  Egypt  to  smite  its  first-born  with 
death,  he  might  pass  over  those  houses  which  were 
thus  distinguished.  "And  ye  shall  observe  this 
thing,"  said  God,  "for  an  ordinance  to  thee  and  to 
thy  sons  for  ever.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when 
ye  be  come  to  the  land  which  the  Lord  will  give 
you  according  as  he  hath  promised,  that  ye  shall 


THE    PASSOVER.  91 

keep  this  service;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  wlicu 
^T^our  children  shall  say  unto  you,  What  mean  ye  by 
this  service?  that  ye  shall  say — It  is  the  sacrifice  of 
the  Lord's  passover,  who  passed  over  the  houses  of 
the  children  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  when  he  smote  the 
Egyptians,  and  delivered  our  houses.  And  the  peo- 
ple bowed  the  head,  and  worshipped.  And  the 
children  of  Israel  went  away,  and  did  as  the  Lord 
had  commanded  Moses  and  Aaron,  so  did  they.  And 
it  came  to  pass,  that  at  midnight  the  Lord  smote  all 
the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  the  first- 
born of  Pharaoh  that  sat  on  his  throne,  unto  the  first- 
born of  the  captive  that  was  in  the  dungeon;  and  all 
the  first-born  of  cattle.  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  in  the 
night,  he,  and  all  his  servants,  and  all  the  Egyptians, 
and  there  was  a  great  cry  in  Egypt;  for  there  was 
not  a  house  where  there  was  not  one  dead."  Such 
was  the  terrific  consequence  to  Egypt  of  the  cruelty 
to  man,  and  rebellion  against  God,  manifested  by  its 
imperious  ruler;  such  was  the  typical  rite  by  which 
the  dwellings  of  two  millions  of  human  beings  were 
preserved  from  echoing  with  the  lamentations  of  be- 
reavement during  this  awful  night,  and  by  which 
they  were  delivered  from  the  galling  yoke  of  slavery; 
and  such  was  the  origin  of  that  feast,  to  celebrate 
which  Jesus  went  up  from  Capernaum  to  Jerusalem, 
fifteen  hundred  years  after  its  first  institution.  The 
circumstance  on  which  a  few  thoughts  are  now  to  be 
founded,  is  thus  related  by  John: — "And  the  Jews' 
passover  was  at  hand,  and  Jesus  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  found  in  the  temple  those  that  sold  oxen 
and  sheep,  and  doves,  and  the  changers  of  money 
sitting:  and  when  lie  had  made  a  scourge  of  small 


92  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

cords,  he  drove  them  all  out  of  the  temple,  and  the 
sheep,  and  the  oxen,  and  poured  out  the  changers'' 
money,  and  overthrew  the  tables;  and  said  unto  them 
that  sold  doves,  'Take  these  things  hence;  make 
not  my  Father's  house  an  house  of  merchandise.' 
And  his  disciples  remembered  that  it  was  written, 
the  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up." 

This  was  the  first  passover  attended  by  Jesus,  after 
his  public  dedication  to  the  great  work  on  which,  as 
the  Messiah,  he  had  entered.  He  had  been  bap- 
tized by  John,  accredited  by  his  Father,  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  above  measure,  tempted  by  the  devil, 
and  found  victor;  and,  after  exhibiting  his  power 
by  the  performance  of  a  miracle,  at  Cana  of  Galilee, 
he  visited  Capernaum  with  his  disciples,  remained 
there  a  few  days,  and  then  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
the  feast  of  the  passover,  when  the  occurrence  related 
by  John  took  place. 

One  great  design  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was  to 
purify  the  worship  of  God  from  all  additions  of 
human  origin,  however  plausible  may  have  been  the 
arguments  used  for  their  introduction  by  their  au- 
thors, or  for  their  continuance  by  their  abettors. 
Even  the  gross  violation  of  common  propriety,  in- 
volved in  turning  the  outer  court  of  the  temple  into 
an  exchange  and  a  market-place,  doubtless  found  its 
advocates.  It  might  be  said,  as  the  Jewish  law  re- 
quires that  every  man  pay  half  a  shekel  to  the  service 
of  the  sanctuary,  and  as  the  money  in  current  use  is 
Roman  coin,  it  will  be  a  great  convenience  to  have  a 
place  near  the  temple  where  the  Roman  coin  may  be 
exchanged  for  the  Jewish  half  shekel.  And  in  re- 
gard to  the  animals  offered  in  sacrifice,  it  might  like- 


THE    PASSOVER.  93 

wise  be  pleaded  as  a  public  convenience,  that  they 
should  be  obtained  near  the  temple.  Arguments  of 
a  religious  character  would  be  used,  such  as  the 
facility  which  these  arrangements  would  give  to 
worshippers,  and  the  duty  of  employing  all  possible 
means  for  the  service  of  the  temple,  and  the  honour 
of  God.  Interested  men  are  never  at  a  loss  for  rea- 
sons, which  seem  to  themselves  conclusive  in  favour 
of  adjuncts  to  divine  institutions,  though  in  their 
operation  these  adjuncts  may  be  injurious  to  spiritual 
worship,  and  dishonouring  to  God.  Our  Lord,  who 
knew  well  both  the  character  of  the  Being  worshipped 
and  of  the  beings  worshipping,  said,  with  a  voice  of 
legitimate  authority  which  admitted  no  refusal,  and 
which  does  not  appear  to  have  met  with  any,  "  Take 
these  things  hence ;  make  not  my  Father's  house  an 
house  of  merchandise."  Three  years  afterwards,  he 
found  it  necessary  to  rebuke  the  same  profanation, 
when  he  exposed  the  character  of  the  persons  en- 
gaged in  this  traffic,  by  saying,  "  It  is  written.  My 
house  shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer ;  but  ye  have 
made  it  a  den  of  thieves."  How  true  is  it  that  "  extor- 
tion and  excess,"  and  every  other  kind  of  criminality 
have  been  committed  under  the  profession  of  rever- 
ence for  God!  To  do  God  service  has  been  the  pro- 
fessed motive  of  deeds  of  infamy  dark  as  hell.  Some- 
times the  parties  whose  recorded  cruelties  make  the 
frame  shrink,  though  committed  a  thousand  years 
ago,  appear  to  have  believed  that  they  were  in  reality 
doing  God  service.  Ignorant  of  his  character,  they 
thought  that  the  diffusion  of  their  own  opinions  was 
identified  with  the  spread  of  his  glory.  The  house 
of  God  has  been  made  a  house  of  merchandise,  and 


94  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

the  house  of  prayer  has  been  turned  into  a  den  of 
thieves  in  all  ages,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  extent 
to  which  men  professing  godliness  have  departed 
from  the  New  Testament  model  of  spiritual  worship. 
The  fatal  error  has  been  the  erection  of  an  ideal 
standard  of  ecclesiastical  perfection,  instead  of  loy- 
ally following  out  the  enunciated  principles  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church.  All  efforts  at  improvement 
require  a  standard  either  real  or  imaginary.  This  is 
constantly  recognised  in  all  human  institutions,  whe- 
ther voluntary  or  governmental.  The  suggested  im- 
provement is  presented  in  theory  by  its  advocate,  and 
the  probable  practical  benefit  of  its  adoption  is  in- 
sisted on.  There  is  no  infallible  standard ;  no  perfect 
model  for  the  erection  of  any  human  confederacy, 
consequently,  there  is  no  other  mode  of  procedure 
than  that  just  named.  There  is  no  limit,  and  from 
the  nature  of  things  there  can  be  none,  to  the  changes 
which  such  associations  may  undergo.  And  so  with 
governments.  There  is  no  unchanging  standard  of 
constitution.  But  in  regard  to  the  house  and  wor- 
ship of  God,  the  case  is  widely  different.  There 
is  a  revelation,  there  is  a  principle,  there  is  a  de- 
clared purpose,  all  inspired,  and  consequently  in- 
fallible. The  design  of  worship,  the  character  of 
the  God  to  be  adored,  and  the  motives,  feelings,  and 
principles  which  ought  to  characterize  the  worshipper, 
are  described.  To  the  buyer  and  the  seller  in  the 
temple,  therefore,  who  suggests  that  his  chattels  are 
for  the  honour  of  God,  and  that  the  adoption  of 
them  would  be  an  improvement,  the  great  Purifier 
says,  "  Take  these  things  hence,  make  not  my 
Father's  house  an  house  of  merchandise."     To  those 


THE    PASSOVER.  95 

who,  under  the  cloak  of  reverence  for  Christianity, 
seek  only  for  an  increase  of  gain,  in  connexion  with 
any  of  the  branches  of  the  Church,  he  says,  "My 
house  is  the  house  of  prayer,  but  ye  have  made  it  a 
den  of  thieves."  And  what  terrible  judgments  does 
"He  who  liveth  and  was  dead"  threaten  to  inflict  on 
that  fearful  apostasy,  the  climax  of  whose  wickedness 
was  its  traffic  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men ! 

Every  age  has  had  its  peculiar  tendencies  towards 
the  introduction  of  formality  into  the  service  of  God. 
This  fact,  however  painful,  is  not  surprising.  It  is 
the  result  of  various  causes,  among  which  we  shall 
not  err  by  naming  the  strong  influence  of  the  senses 
on  the  human  mind,  the  difficulty  of  realizing  the 
purely  spiritual,  and  the  fearful  extent  to  which  the 
doctrme  of  regeneration  has  been  either  entirely 
overlooked,  or  greatly  misapprehended.  The  first- 
named  cause  requires  to  be  kept  under  constant  re- 
straint, otherwise  "the  house  of  prayer"  will  become 
the  scene  of  gorgeous  display;  the  fascmations  of  art 
will  monopolise  those  thoughts  which  ought  to  be 
employed  in  devotion;  the  visible,  instead  of  aiding 
contemplation  of  the  invisible,  will  prevent  it ;  paint- 
ing, sculpture,  and  music,  will  attract  that  attention 
which  spiritual  truth  demands;  and  the  professed 
worshipper  will  become  the  creature  of  lifeless  sen- 
timent, or  sink  down  into  the  mere  formalist.  That 
healthful  and  vigorous  mental  condition  which  results 
from  sympathy  with  the  grand  truths  of  the  gospel, 
will  not  characterize  such  a  man.  It  is  true  that,  in 
certain  cases,  there  may  be  spiritual  devotion  and 
intelligent  piety  even  amid  such  drawbacks;  but  as 
facts  warrent  the  inference  that,  in  the  majority  of 


Off  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

instances,  the  evils  deprecated  will  grow  up  amidst 
these  sensible  attractions,  so  we  think  the  Purifier  of 
God's  house  would  say  of  them,  "Take  these  things 
hence." 

We  have  also  named  the  difficulty  of  realizing  the 
purely  spiritual.  Almost  all  nations  have  had  some 
idea  of  God  as  a  material  power,  a  great  Being,  pos- 
sessing material  attributes.  They  have  attempted, 
consequently,  to  "liken  God,"  or  to  embody  their 
gross  conceptions  of  him  in  idols  of  wood  and  stone, 
in  graven  images  of  gold  and  silver,  made  "by  art 
and  man's  device."  The  most  sublime  truth  ever 
presented  to  the  human  mind  is,  that  "God  is  a 
spirit,"  an  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  invisible,  imma- 
terial, pure,  and  holy  spirit.  But  even  after  this 
truth  has  been  presented  through  the  medium  of 
language,  it  is  so  vast,  so  grand,  so  overwhelming, 
as  to  baffle  correct  comprehension.  It  is  beyond  our 
reach.  Its  height,  and  depth,  and  length,  and 
breadth,  astonish  and  paralyze  our  feeble  powers. 
We  are  lost  in  its  greatness,  and  awed  by  its  grandeur. 
We  have  no  imagination  equal  to  the  task  of  grasp- 
ing it.  We  have  no  tangible  premises  from  which 
to  reason  about  it,  no  starting  point,  no  example,  no 
standard  of  comparison  for  it.  It  is  boundlessness 
alive,  infinitude  gazing  upon  us,  the  All-seeing  unseen. 
It  has  no  gradations  to  help  the  journey  of  thought, 
no  change  of  feature  to  fix  attention;  it  is  God — God 
a  spirit — God  everywhere;  and  having  said  this,  we 
have  but  repeated  this  sublime  revelation  of  the 
Eternal  given  by  him  who  came  forth  from  him  to 
be  the  light  of  the  world.  But  this  God  is  the  object 
of  worship.      How,  then,  is  he  to  be  worshipped? 


THE    PASSOVER.  97 

He  is  immaterial,  infinite,  holy.  How  is  devotion 
to  be  regulated?  How  is  thought  to  be  fixed? 
Where  is  the  mind  to  rest?  Where  is  the  centre  of 
reverence?  Is  there  no  place  for  the  eye  of  faith? 
There  is.  The  difficulty  has  been  graciously  antici- 
pated, and  provided  against  by  God  himself: — "Be- 
hold, the  Lamb  of  GodP^  "Look  unto  Jesus!" 
Here  is  "God  manifest  in  the  flesh!"  God  speak- 
ing, God  acting.  Here  is  "the  brightness  of  God's 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person."  Here 
is  the  Word  made  flesh,  and  "he  dwelt  among  us," 
says  John,  "and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as 
of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth."  Here  is  "God  with  us."  God,  "in  every 
deed,"  dwells  "with  men  on  the  earth."  "Say  unto 
the  cities  of  Judah,  Behold  your  God!"  Here,  then, 
is  a  resting  place  for  the  mind.  Thought,  feeling, 
devotion,  reverence,  may  converge  here.  "  They  will 
reverence  my  Son."  God  in  Christ,  Diety  in  hu- 
manity, he  who  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
dweUing  among  men,  is  here  before  us !  Man  cannot 
go  up  to  God ;  God  comes  down  to  man.  "  He  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."  The  doctrine 
of  the  incarnation  appears  to  us  essential  to  the  co- 
herence of  the  gospel,  the  revealed  purposes  of  God, 
and  the  condition  of  men.  It  shows  the  astonishing 
love  of  God  to  his  ignorant  and  ruined  creatures.  It 
is  the  Mighty  coming  after  the  feeble,  the  Creator 
stooping  to  the  dark  pit  in  which  his  blind  creatures 
were  groping,  and  infinite  mercy  concentrating  itself 
in  a  sinless  human  form,  that  it  might  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  rebellion,  and  erect  a  standard  of  loyalty  and 
acceptable  devotion,  around  which  the  penitent  in 

9 


98  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

every  coming  age  might  congregate,  as  around  the 
feet  of  the  visible  God.  In  "contending  earnestly" 
for  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  we  contend  not 
for  an  individual  principle  of  the  Christian  faith 
merely,  but  for  the  keystone  of  the  glorious  arch 
which  spans  the  dread  abyss  between  heaven  and 
earth.  It  connects  the  holy  God  with  his  sinful 
creatures,  commmiicates  to  them  the  restoring  in- 
fluences of  his  grace,  makes  them  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,  fixes  their  attention  on  the  character 
of  the  Being  with  whom  they  have  to  do,  preserves 
them,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  grossness  of  that 
idolatry  which  thinks  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto 
gold  or  silver  graven  by  art,  and,  on  the  other,  from 
being  lost  amidst  the  incomprehensible  idea  of  an 
infinite  Spirit,  and  teaches  them  "to  ofier  up  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ."  Let 
the  Saviour  be  "exalted,  and  extolled,  and  made 
very  high;"  let  his  conduct,  as  far  as  it  is  imitable, 
be  imitated;  let  his  footsteps,  as  a  sinless  pattern,  be 
followed;  let  his  authority,  as  God,  be  obeyed;  let 
"all  men  honour  the  Son  ever  as  they  honour  the 
Father;"  let  him  be  the  object  of  faith,  the  ground 
of  hope,  the  only  ruler  in  the  Church,  and  the  com- 
plaint of  inability  to  realize  the  spiritual  will  vanish, 
formalism  will  give  place  to  pure  devotion,  un- 
authorized additions  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah  will 
be  removed,  and  the  house  of  God  will  be  purified. 

But,  perhaps,  the  most  prolific  source  of  formalism, 
error,  disease,  death,  in  the  visible  Church,  has  been, 
and  is,  the  neglect  of  the  doctrine  of  regeneration, 
or  the  new  birth.  There  is  no  doctrine  of  the  New 
-Testament  stated  with  greater  clearness  than  this. 


THE    PASSOVER.  99 

It  is  presented  in  a  variety  of  forms.  It  is  insisted 
on  as  a  fundamental  truth.  It  is  declared  to  be 
at  tlie  very  threshold  of  the  spiritual  temple.  It  is 
made  the  starting  point  of  the  Christian  race.  It 
stands  out  prominently  as  essential  to  salvation;  and 
its  practical  importance  is  repeatedly  urged.  Jesus 
speaks  of  it  thus: — "Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  John  an- 
nounces it  thus: — "But  as  many  as  received  him,  to 
them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God, 
even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name;  who  were 
born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor 
of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  Paul,  writing  to 
the  Romans,  describes  it  thus: — "He  is  not  a  Jew 
who  is  one  outwardly;  neither  is  that  circumcision 
which  is  outward  in  the  flesh;  but  he  is  a  Jew  who 
is  one  inwardly;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter;  whose  praise 
is  not  of  men,  but  of  God."  Again:  "our  old  man 
is  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be 
destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin." 
Again: — "Dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Again: — "The 
carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  for  it  is  not  sub- 
ject to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.  So, 
then,  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God. 
But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so  be 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.  Now,  if  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of 
his."  Writing  to  the  Corinthians,  he  defines  it 
thus: — "If  any  man  be  in  Clirist,  he  is  a  new  crea- 
ture: old  things  are  passed  away,  behold,  all  things 
are  become  new."     The  attention  of  the  Galatians 


100  THE    FOOTSTEPS   OP   MESSIAH. 

is  called  to  it  thus: — "I  am  crucified  with  Christ: 
nevertheless,  I  live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me:  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I 
live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me, 
and  gave  himself  for  me."  Again: — "In  Christ 
Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  anything,  nor  un- 
circumcision,  but  a  new  creature."  The  Ephesians 
are  reminded  of  it  thus: — "And  you  hath  he  quick- 
ened, who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  Again: 
"We  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  good  works."  Again: — "Put  on  the  new 
man,  which,  after  God,  is  created  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness."  Again: — "Ye  were  sometimes 
darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord:  walk 
as  children  of  light."  And  it  is  laid  before  the  Co- 
lossians  thus: — "In  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised 
with  the  circumcision  made  without  hands,  in  putting 
off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the  circum- 
cision of  Christ."  Again: — "Being  dead  in  your 
sins,  he  hath  quickened  you  together  with  Christ." 
And  again: — "Lie  not  one  to  another,  seeing  that 
ye  have  put  off"  the  old  man  with  his  deeds;  and 
have  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in 
knowledge  after  the  image  of  him  that  created 
him." 

Now,  it  is  clearly  impossible  that  a  doctrine  so 
repeatedly  brought  before  the  churches,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  inspired  volume,  can  be  overlooked 
with  either  safety  to  men,  or  honour  to  God.  It  is 
the  boundary  line  between  the  Church  and  the 
world.  In  it  is  found  the  most  emphatic  meaning 
of  the  celebrated  declaration — "My  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world."     All  who  have  experienced  the  new 


THE    PASSOVER.  101 

birth,  whatever  their  country,  language,  or  denomi- 
national preferences,  are  subjects  of  the  spiritual 
khigdom,  disciples  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  and 
heirs  of  heaven;  and  no  man  who  has  not  expe- 
rienced this  change,  however  correct  his  creed,  and 
praiseworthy  his  deportment,  has  entered  the  path 
that  leads  to  heaven,  and  conducts  to  a  happy  im- 
mortality. He  is  still  far  off,  still  in  the  world, 
because  he  has  not  been  born  again.  Yet  this  fun- 
damental doctrine,  the  value  of  which  is  obvious  to 
all  who  have  scriptural  views  of  "the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  has  been  misunderstood  by  multitudes  of 
professed  disciples  of  Jesus:  by  others  it  has  been 
denied,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  explained  away ; 
and  by  a  very  large  class  it  has  been  identified  with 
the  symbol  of  purity,  the  waters  of  baptism.  The 
consequence  has  been,  that  Christianity,  histead  of 
being  recognised  as  a  vital  spiritual  power,  has  been 
confounded  with  conformity  to  a  system  of  pro- 
positions. The  positive  institute  has  usm-ped  the 
place  assigned  to  the  controlling  principle.  The 
moral  world  has  occupied  the  territory  of  the  spi- 
ritual Church.  The  platform  of  doctrine  has  been 
committed  to  memory,  while  the  Author  of  faith  has 
had  no  temple  in  the  heart;  and  the  Church  has 
become  a  local,  instead  of  a  divine — a  geographical, 
instead  of  a  gracious  institution.  A  serious  error  at 
the  outset  must  make  the  journey  disastrous.  The 
foundation  insecure,  the  building  must  give  way. 
Allegiance  to  Christ,  where  the  heart  has  not  been 
changed  by  his  spirit,  is  impossible.  The  pre-re- 
quisite  wanting,  there  is  an  essential  deficiency  in  loy- 
alty to  him.     The  profession  may  be  loud,  but  it 

9* 


102  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

wants  the  authorized  motive,  the  inward  spring  of 
action,  the  invisible  soul  of  hearty,  willing,  loved,  and 
therefore  acceptable,  devotion;  and  in  reference  to 
those  sacrifices,  prayers,  and  labours,  which  spring 
from  the  lips  and  hands  of  those  who  have  not  sur- 
rendered their  hearts  to  him,  the  Divine  purifier 
of  the  house  of  God  says,  '^Take  these  things 
hence ! " 

"What  is  all  righteousness  that  men  devise? 
What — but  a  sordid  bargain  for  the  skies? 
But  Christ  as  soon  would  abdicate  his  own, 
As  stoop  from  heaven  to  sell  the  proud  a  tlirone." 


CHAPTER   Vlir. 

SAMARIA. 

ACCEPTABLE    WORSHIP    DEFINED. 

The  manifestations  of  God  have  been  regulated  by 
infinite  wisdom  in  all  ages.  There  has  been  a  gra- 
dual development  of  the  Divine  character,  suited  to 
the  circumstances  and  condition  of  the  world.  The 
light  has  been  increasing  from  the  earliest  ages. 
The  patriarchal  was  an  increase  to  the  antediluvian, 
the  ritual  to  the  patriarchal,  the  prophetic  to  the 
ritual,  the  evangelic  to  the  prophetic.  "God,  who 
at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  times 
past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these 
last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath 
appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also  he  made 
the  worlds."  This  last  manifestation  of  God, — the 
Christian, — sheds  more  light  on  his  character,  and 
by  consequence  on  the  relation  in  which  man  stands 
to  him,  than  any  previous  manifestation  did.  Things 
which  were  kept  secret  are  now  revealed.  "Many 
prophets  and  righteous  men  have  desired  to  see  those 
things  which  we  see,  and  have  not  seen  them ;  and 
to  hear  those  things  which  we  hear,  and  have  not 
heard  them."  The  apostle  Peter  describes  the  feel- 
ing of  the  prophets  regarding  the  gospel  age: — "Of 
which    salvation   the    prophets    have  inquired  and 


104  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that 
should  come  unto  you:  searching  what,  or  what 
manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in 
them  did  signify,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 
Unto  whom  it  was  revealed,  that  not  unto  themselves, 
but  unto  us  they  did  minister  the  things  which  are 
now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have  preached 
the  gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down 
from  heaven;  which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look 
into."  This  is  the  noon-day  of  revelation,  in  which 
the  long  promised  and  prefigured  Messiah  speaks  to 
men  of  those  great  truths  which  concern  the  deepest 
interests  of  the  whole  race.  Previous  manifestations 
pointed  to  this.  Previous  rays  of  divine  light  con- 
verge on  this.  This  is  the  confluence  of  previous 
beams  of  revelation.  And  the  light  which  now 
shines  so  brilliantly  under  the  reign  of  grace,  illu- 
mines the  path  to,  and  loses  itself  amidst,  the  regions 
of  glory.  It  streams  on  the  attractive  future,  and  re- 
veals life  and  immortality.  The  world  has  never  been 
abandoned  by  its  Creator.  Through  all  the  ages  of 
the  past  there  are  found  monuments  of  his  power, 
memorials  of  his  mercy,  evidences  of  his  justice, 
and  illustrations  of  his  character.  From  the  time 
when  the  voice  of  God  was  heard  in  Eden,  in  the 
cool  of  the  day,  by  the  conscience-stricken  parents 
of  our  race,  to  the  time  when  the  voice  of  God  man- 
ifest in  the  flesh,  gave  to  the  surprised  woman  of 
Samaria  a  definition  of  acceptable  worship,  the  di- 
vine character  has  been  unfolding  itself  to  the  sons 
of  men.  Never  before  was  it  so  clearly  understood 
as  under  the  spiritual  reign  of  him  who  said, "  He 


SAMARIA.  105 

that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I 
will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him." 
This,  in  the  personal  absence  of  our  Lord,  involves 
the  idea  of  a  spiritual  manifestation,  and  well  does 
such  a  manifestation  accord  with  the  definition  of 
acceptable  worship  just  alluded  to:  "God  is  a  spirit: 
and  they  that  worship  him,  must  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." 

Jesus,  knowing  that  the  envy  and  malice  of  the 
Jewish  rulers  against  him,  because  of  the  success  of 
his  ministry  and  the  fame  of  the  multitudes  baptized 
by  his  disciples,  were  rapidly  on  the  increase,  left 
Judea  for  Galilee,  a  country  where  the  influence  of 
the  Sanhedrim  was  not  so  powerful  as  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Jerusalem.  "Though  Jesus  feared  not 
death,  and  did  not  shrink  from  suffering,  yet  he 
did  not  needlessly  throw  himself  into  danger,  or 
provoke  opposition.  He  could  do  as  much  good  in 
Galilee,  probably,  as  in  Judea,  and  he  therefore 
withdrew  himself  from  immediate  danger."  The 
direct  road  from  Judea  to  Galilee  lay  through 
Samaria,  a  country  formerly  belonging  to  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh.  The 
following  concise  and  acciu:ate  account  of  the  Sama- 
ritans, and  of  the  grounds  of  that  animosity  which 
is  well  known  to  have  obtained  between  them  and 
the  Jews,  is  extracted  from  the  valuable  "Notes"  of 
Albert  Barnes. 

"This  people," — the  Samaritan — "was  formerly 
composed  of  a  few  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  a  mixture 
of  foreigners.  When  the  ten  tribes  were  carried 
away  into  captivity  to  Babylon,  the  king  of  Assyria 
sent    people  from    Cutha,  Ava,  Hametli,  and    Sc- 


106  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

pharvaim,  to  inhabit  their  country.  These  people  at 
first  worshipped  the  idols  of  their  own  nations.  But 
being  troubled  with  lions,  which  had  increased 
greatly  while  the  country  was  uninhabited,  they 
supposed  it  was  because  they  had  not  honoured  the 
God  of  the  country.  A  Jewish  priest  was  therefore 
sent  to  them  from  Babylon,  to  instruct  them  in  the 
Jewish  religion.  They  were  instructed  partially  from 
the  books  of  Moses,  but  still  retained  many  of  their 
old  rites  and  idolatrous  customs,  and  embraced  a  re- 
ligion made  up  of  Judaism  and  idolatry. 

"  The  grounds  of  difference  between  the  two  na- 
tions were  the  following: 

"1st.  The  Jews  after  their  return  from  Babylon, 
set  about  rebuilding  their  temple.  The  Samaritans 
offered  to  aid  them.  The  Jews,  however,  perceiving 
that  it  was  not  from  a  love  of  true  religion,  but  that 
they  might  obtain  a  part  of  the  favours  granted  to 
the  Jews  by  Cyrus,  rejected  their  offer.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  a  state  of  long  and  bitter  animosity 
arose  between  them  and  the  Jews. 

"2d.  While  Nehemiah  was  engaged  in  building 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  the  Samaritans  used  every 
art  to  thwart  him  in  his  undertaking. 

"3d.  The  Samaritans  at  length  obtained  leave  of 
the  Persian  monarch  to  build  a  temple  for  them- 
selves. This  was  erected  on  Mount  Gerizim,  and 
they  strenuously  contended  that  that  was  the  place 
designed  by  Moses  as  the  place  where  the  nation 
should  worship.  Sanballet,  the  leader  of  the  Sama- 
ritans, constituted  his  son-in-law,  Manasses,  High 
Priest.     The  religion  of  the  Samaritans  thus  became 


SAMARIA.  107 

perpetuated,  and  an  irreconcilable  hatred  arose  be- 
tween them  and  the  Jews. 

"4th.  Afterwards  Samaria  became  a  place  of  resort 
for  all  the  outlaws  of  Judea.  They  received  willing- 
ly all  the  Jewish  criminals,  and  refugees  from  justice. 
The  violators  of  the  Jewish  laws,  and  those  who 
had  been  excommunicated,  betook  themselves  for 
safety  to  Samaria,  and  greatly  increased  their  num- 
bers and  the  hatred  which  subsisted  between  the  two 
nations. 

"  5th.  The  Samaritans  received  only  the  five  books 
of  Moses,  and  rejected  the  writings  of  the  prophets, 
and  all  the  Jewish  traditions.  From  these  causes 
arose  an  irreconcilable  difference  between  them,  so 
that  the  Jews  regarded  them  as  the  worst  of  the  hu- 
man race,  and  had  no  dealings  with  them." 

It  was  with  an  inhabitant  of  Sychar,  in  Samaria, 
a  woman,  an  epitome  of  whose  history  presents  her 
moral  character  in  no  favourable  light,  that  Jesus 
held  the  memorable  conversation  recorded  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by  John.  His  conde- 
scension and  grace  were  strikingly  illustrated  in  this 
conversation.  To  her  he  said,  that  he  was  the  pos- 
sessor and  distributor  of  living  water.  To  her  he 
annoimced  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  abolition 
of  sacred  places.  To  her  he  declared  himself  to  be 
the  promised  Messiah.  And  to  her  he  laid  down 
the  momentously  important  principle,  that  all  true 
worshippers  must  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  more  important 
principle  than  this.  It  brings  the  mind  into  corres- 
pondence with  the  vital  realities  of  spiritual  truth.  It 
leaves  no  room  for  the  idea,  that  formalism  may  in- 


108  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

vest  the  externals  of  worship  with  attractions  pleasing 
to  the  great  Being  who  is  the  object  of  worship.  It 
sends  the  mind  within  itself  on  the  solemn  search 
after  devotional,  reverential,  and  holy  feelings.  It 
deals  at  once  with  the  human  heart,  sweeping  aside 
all  external  circumstances  of  time,  place,  relation- 
ship, denominational  affinities,  and  profession.  It 
recognises  no  adventitious  circumstance,  no  "visible 
church,"  no  tribe  of  Levi,  no  gorgeous  cathedrals, 
no  sacred  spots.  It  listens  not  to  the  plea,  "  Abraham 
is  our  father."  It  knows  nothing  of  apostolic  de- 
scent. It  sees  not  the  broad  phylactery.  It  hears 
not  the  scientific  melody.  It  proclaims  that  God  is 
not  worshipped  by  art  and  man's  device ;  that  neither 
in  Mount  Gerizim,  nor  in  Jerusalem,  nor  anywhere 
else  throughout  the  wide  earth,  shall  a  sacred  spot  be 
found  on  which  God  will  look  down  with  peculiar 
benignity,  as  the  place  of  his  feet ;  that  the  external, 
the  ritual,  the  ceremonial,  the  visibly  magnificent, 
are  henceforth  of  no  account;  that  the  Most  High 
dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands;  but  that  as 
he  is  a  holy  and  infinite  Spirit,  whom  the  heaven 
of  heavens  cannot  contain,  he  looks  upon  the  spirits, 
searches  the  hearts,  and  tries  the  reins  of  his  crea- 
tures. It  demands  the  throne  of  the  heart  for  him 
who  is  its  rightful  occupant;  the  excercise  of  the 
judgment  and  affections  in  things  divine,  and  the  ex- 
pulsion of,  or  the  unfeigned  desire  to  expel,  every  sin- 
ful influence  from  the  soul,  as  destructive  of  its  true 
interests,  and  offensive  to  that  God  who  has  a  right  to 
its  undivided  and  undistracted  loyalty. 

"In  spirit  and  in  truth."     Spirituality  of  mind  is 
essential  both  to  a  right  perception  of  divine  things, 


SAMARIA.  109 

and  a  right  approach  to  God.  The  love  of  the  pure 
and  the  holy  must  be  a  governing  principle,  divine 
impressions  must  be  felt;  access  to  God  by  faith,  and 
conmiunion  with  him  must  be  desired,  the  purity  of 
his  character,  the  design  of  a  throne  of  grace,  and 
the  established  medium  of  intercourse  between  the 
suppliant  and  his  Creator,  must  be  remembered; 
and  the  solemnity  involved  in  the  idea  of  drawing 
nigh  to  him  who  searches  the  heart,  must  be  real- 
ized. He  is  a  great  King.  The  hosts  of  heaven 
bend  before  him.  Its  mightiest  principalities,  high 
in  authority,  high  in  intellect,  high  in  moral  perfec- 
tion, fall  with  veiled  faces  at  his  feet.  His  power 
is  absolute;  his  reign  eternal;  his  presence  mii- 
versal;  his  holiness  essential;  his  will,  unchanging 
laiu  to  all  the  worlds  spoken  into  existence  by  his 
word,  and  to  all  the  beings  into  whom  he  has 
breathed  reason;  he  looketh  on  the  earth,  and  it 
trembleth;  he  toucheth  the  hills  and  they  smoke; 
he  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand, 
and  meted  out  heaven  with  the  span,  and  compre- 
hended the  dust  of  the  earth  in  a  measure,  and 
weighed  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a 
balance;  he  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  Uttle  thing; 
the  nations  before  him  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket; 
they  are  as  nothing — they  are  counted  to  him  less 
than  nothing  and  vanity;  and  he  seeth  not  as  man 
sceth,  for  man  looketh  on  the  outward  appearance, 
but  the  Lord  looketh  on  the  heart.  It  is  therefore, 
a  solemn  thing  for  man  to  draw  near  to  God.  It  is 
to  come  into  the  presence  of  a  Being,  the  grandeur 
of  whose  attributes  overwhelms  the  greatest  minds, 
and  whose  awful  prerogative  it  is  to  read  the  mys- 

10 


110  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

teries  of  the  human  soul.  Every  thought,  and  feel- 
ing, and  desire,  and  purpose,  are  clearly  known  by 
him.  Those  transient  emotions  of  the  soul  of  which 
we  ourselves  are  scarcely  conscious,  which  come  and 
go  we  know  neither  whence  nor  whither,  and  which 
from  their  ephemeral  chracter  we  deem  unworthy 
of  moral  analysis,  are  distinctly  traced  by  him. 
Though  we  may  fail  to  recognise  the  fact,  these  brief 
mental  passengers,  which  flit  across  the  spirit  like 
the  shadow  of  a  flying  bird,  belong  to  the  vast  mul- 
titude of  influences  that  are  constantly  forming  the 
character  in  the  sight  of  God.  Each  of  these  slight 
impressions  has  moral  affinities,  the  importance  of 
which  it  is  difficult  to  overstate.  It  unites  and  com- 
bines itself  with  the  multitude  of  thoughts  within 
us,  which  make  us  what  we  are,  spiritual  worship- 
pers, formalists,  or  mockers  of  holiness.  And  as  the 
God  with  whom  we  have  to  do  determines  the  cha- 
racter by  the  operation  oi  first  principles  in  the  mind, 
the  volitions  of  the  will,  the  desires  and  aspirations 
of  the  heart,  so  it  is  obvious  that  he  is  not  adored  at 
all,  if  the  spirit  of  the  professed  worshipper  be  not 
engaged  in  that  act. 

What  a  wonderful  piece  of  divine  mechanism  is 
the  human  mind!  How  varied,  and  subtle,  and 
elastic  its  powers!  To  what  depths  of  investiga- 
tion is  it  capable  of  penetrating!  To  what  glorious 
heights  can  it  soar!  And  how  wide  the  field  of 
beauty  and  wonder  over  which  God  has  permitted 
its  delegated  sceptre  to  sweep!  Though  at  present 
the  tenant  of  an  earthly  house,  subject  to  all  the 
ordinary  laws  which  govern  the  animal  creation, 
exposed  to  all  the  changes  of  summer  and  winter, 


SAMARIA.  Ill 

day  and  night,  heat  and  cold,  as  well  as  to  the 
pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,  and  the  des- 
truction that  wasteth  at  noon-day,  and  soon  to  be 
removed  by  the  resistless  stroke  of  the  last  enemy, 
yet  it  is  so  far  independent  of  the  mystic  tie  that  leads 
it  to  sympathize  even  with  the  frailties  of  its  tene- 
ment, that  it  can  dart  at  will  from  world  to  world, 
can  nestle  in  the  bosom  of  the  sun,  fly  to  the  foot  of 
the  throne  of  God,  join  in  the  songs  of  angels,  and 
cast  itself  at  the  feet  of  the  enthroned  Messiah.  Like 
"the  word  of  God,"  it  "is  not  bound."  You  may 
thrust  Paul  and  Silas  into  the  inner  prison,  and  make 
their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks,  and  charge  the  jailer  to 
keep  them  safely;  but  notwithstanding  their  sores 
and  sohtude,  their  unfettered  minds  can  worship 
God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  send  their  acceptable 
praises  from  the  gloom  of  the  dungeon  to  the  light 
of  the  heavenly  world.  In  addition  to  this  excursive 
power  of  the  human  mind,  which  leads  it  to  "wan- 
der through  eternity,"  its  powers  of  endurance  and 
susceptibility  of  enjoyment  are  also  in  the  highest 
degree  wonderful.  The  wringing  of  the  hands,  the 
gushing  tears,  the  audible  groan,  the  emaciated  look, 
and  the  prematurely  whitened  hair,  are  but  poor  in- 
terpreters of  what  the  mind  can  suffer.  There  are 
mental  woes  for  which  language  has  no  voice,  thought 
no  symbol,  action  no  hieroglyphic.  It  feels  at  times 
as  if  the  three  days  of  Egyptian  palpable  darkness 
were  upon  it,  or  as  if  the  four  apocalyptic  angels 
had  commanded  the  winds  of  heaven  to  blow  upon  it 
from  every  quarter.  Times  without  number,  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  has  an  individual  mind  been 
the  den  of  throngs  of  demons,  whose  name  was  le- 


112  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

gion.  Hell  in  epitome  has  been  realized  before  the 
sinful  sufferer  stood  disembodied  before  his  Judge. 
But,  we  repeat,  language  has  no  voice  with  which 
to  speak  of  the  powers  of  endurance  characteristic 
of  the  human  mind.  And  so  also  of  its  suscepti- 
bility of  enjoyment.  It  has  been  the  scene  of  hal- 
lowed gladness,  such  as  heaven  itself  can  alone 
transcend.  It  has  had  joys  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  have 
dwelt  in  it,  and  ministering  angels  have  encircled  it 
with  a  halo  of  effulgent  light.  Heaven  in  epitome 
has  been  realized  before  the  honoured  and  happy 
mind  exchanged  worlds. 

"When  Christ  with  all  his  graces  crowned. 
Sheds  his  kind  beams  abroad, 
'Tis  a  young  heaven  on  earthly  ground, 
And  glory  in  the  bud." 

The  argument  we  wish  to  found  on  these  conside- 
rations, and  we  think  it  legitimate,  is  the  reasonable- 
ness of  devoting  this  great  power,  or  rather  assem- 
blage of  powers,  to  the  service  of  its  Maker  and 
Author.  With  the  exception  of  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion, the  formation  of  mind,  in  which  word  we 
include  the  intellectual  powers  and  affections  of  the 
soul,  must  be  considered  the  greatest  work  of  God. 
Is  it  not  reasonable  therefore,  that  he  should  require 
the  homage  of  the  spirit?  That  he  should  ask  the 
service  of  the  soul?  Shall  he  be  satisfied  with  the 
service  of  the  hands,  the  reverence  of  the  lips,  the 
bending  of  the  knee,  the  prostration  of  the  body,  or 
the  pecuniary  sacrifice,  while  the  heart  is  far  from 
him?      Revelation  answers,  no;  and  reason   echoes 


SAMARIA.  113 

the  reply,  "The  true  worshippers  m\xsi  \voys\.\\\)  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

Moreover  spiritual  worship  is  alone  profitable 
to  the  worshipper.  His  necessities  are  spiritual. 
His  disease  is  spiritual.  His  dangers  are  spiritual 
The  mind  is  depraved.  The  heart  is  alienated  from 
God.  "It  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  despe- 
rately wicked."  The  defection  from  God  is  radical. 
The  infirmity  of  the  soul  is  past  all  human  cure. 
"  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  to  God,  and  the  eflfects 
df  this  enmity,"  says  Howe,  "are  obvious.  This 
alienation  from  God  is  voluntary,  affected,  and  cho- 
sen: men  in  their  unconverted  state  are  not  only 
strangers  to  God,  but  enemies  against  God,  and  that 
in  their  minds.  A  most  fearful  case,  full  of  astonish- 
ment, that  the  very  mind  of  man,  the  oftspring 
of  God,  the  paternal  mind,  as  a  heathen  called  him, 
that  this  most  excellent  part  or  power  belonging  to 
the  nature  of  man,  should  be  poisoned  with  malig- 
nity, and  envenomed  with  enmity  against  the  glori- 
ous, ever-blessed  God !  That  the  mind  of  man,  his 
thinking  power,  the  fountain  of  thoughts,  should  be 
set  against  God,  who  gave  him  the  power  to  think ! 
Yet  into  this  reason  must  every  man's  un-acquaint- 
ance  with  God  be  resolved,  they  know  not  God,  and 
converse  not  with  him,  only  because  they  have  no 
mind  to  it.  That  noble  faculty  in  man  that  resem- 
bles the  nature  of  God  is  turned  oflJ"  from  him,  and 
set  on  vain  things  that  cannot  profit,  as  also  upon 
wicked  and  impure  things,  that  render  them  more 
unlike  God,  and  disaffected  to  him."  The  revela- 
tion of  mercy,  however,  announces  that  the  grace  of 
God  in  Christ  is  amply  sufficient  to  dry  up  the  spring 

10* 


114  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  all  this  hostility,  and  to  remove  the  spiritual  de- 
gradation that  has  resulted  from  it.  The  Divine  re- 
medy has  been  provided  without  cost  to  man,  and  is 
offered  without  money.  There  is  a  radical  remedy 
for  the  radical  disease.  It  is  offered  to  the  mind, 
and  by  the  mind  it  must  be  sought.  It  is  offered  to 
the  spirit,  and  by  the  spirit  it  must  be  sought.  The 
prayer  of  the  lip,  and  the  homage  of  the  knee,  if 
the  heart  desire  not  the  blessing  named,  will  never 
bring  it  down  from  heaven.  The  influences  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  granted  to  the  spiritual  worshipper  for 
the  sake  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  can  alone  meet 
the  case.  Then  spiritual  sacrifices  will  be  offered  up, 
acceptable  to  God.  Then  the  man  becomes  a  "true 
worshipper."  But  without  these  influences,  God  is 
not  acceptably  worshipped,  and  the  professed  wor- 
shipper is  not  benefited.  The  evangelic  system, 
which  is  an  exposition  of  the  Reedeemer's  character 
and  grace,  is  intended  to  meet  the  spiritual  necessi- 
ties of  men.  This  purpose  it  gloriously  realizes.  It 
tells  what  God  is,  and  what  he  requires;  and  it  ex- 
plains the  nature  and  condition  of  man,  and  most 
graciously  provides  for  him  all  that  he  needs,  both 
as  a  worshipper  of  God,  and  as  an  expectant  of 
everlasting  life.  To  reveal  to  the  world  the  grand 
provisions  of  this  system  of  "grace  and  truth"  was 
one  of  the  objects  of  Messiah's  incarnation.  For  this 
he  "came  down  from  heaven.  And  if  any  pro- 
fessed minister  of  his,  either  from  ignorance  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  evangelic  system,  or  from  com- 
pliance with  a  fashionable  creed,  substitute  the  life- 
less homily,  or  the  classic  morality,  for  that  soul- 
saving  and  God-glorifying  system,  he  must  be  reck- 


SAMARIA.  115 

oned,  despite  his  protests,  among  the  "many  anti- 
christs." The  Redeemer's  system  and  his  are  irre- 
concilable antagonists. 

"In  truth."  "God  is  not  mocked."  He  desires 
truth  in  the  inward  parts.  Hypocrisy  is  the  crown- 
ing folly  of  which  any  man  can  be  guilty.  It  is  an 
acted  lie  in  the  presence  of  the  heart-searching  God. 
It  is  a  profession  of  attachment  to  Divine  things, 
where  none  is  felt;  a  declaration  of  regard  for  spi- 
ritual truths,  where  no  regard  influences  the  mind; 
the  sign  of  life,  in  the  absence  of  all  vitality,  and  an 
announcement  of  allegiance  to  the  Redeemer,  which 
has  never  manifested  itself  by  a  surrender  of  the 
heart  to  his  control.  It  is  regular  in  its  external 
services;  but  the  love  of  the  present  world  is  its 
guiding  passion.  It  can  say  long  prayers;  but  im- 
mediately afterwards  devour  widow's  houses.  It 
pays  tithe  of  mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin;  but 
omits  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith.  It  makes  clean 
the  outside  of  the  cup,  and  of  the  platter;  but 
within  it  is  full  of  extortion  and  excess.  Its  "God 
I  thank  thee  that  I  am  not  as  other  men,"  reveals  at 
once  its  pride  and  folly. 

"Nothing  but  truth  before  his  throne 
With  honour  can  appear; 
Tlic  painted  hypocrites  are  known 
Through  tlie  disguise  they  wear." 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  there  is  an  enlight- 
ened perception  of  the  scriptural  character  of  God, 
and  a  reverential  approach  to  his  footstool,  with  a 
deep  and  humbling  sense  of  personal  unworthincss, 
earnestly  soliciting  mercy  and  grace,  according  to  the 


116  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

directions  of  revealed  truth,  and  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
who  is  the  sun,  and  sum,  and  substance  of  all  truth, 
and  with  the  holy  purpose  of  employing  the  grace 
that  may  be  communicated  in  the  service  andybr  the 
glory  of  the  great  Giver,  then  everything  is  in  order ; 
all  the  parts  of  the  economy  of  mercy  are  in  beau- 
tiful harmony ;  the  worshipper  is  abundantly  blessed, 
and  "the  Father  is  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in. 
truth." 


CHAPTER   IX. 


CAPERNAUM. 


THE     DISPOSSESSION. 


Jesus,  rejected  by  the  ignorant  inhabitants  of  Na- 
zareth, "came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,  whicli  is 
upon  the  sea  coast,  in  the  borders  of  Zabulon  and 
Nephthahm."  He  spent  much  of  the  time  of  his 
public  ministry  in  this  once  celebrated  city  and  its 
neighbourhood.  It  was  the  metropolis  of  Galilee, 
and  stood  on  the  north-west  corner  of  the  sea  of 
Tiberias.  The  ministrations  and  miracles  of  Christ 
were  abundant  here;  Matthew  calls  it  "His  own 
city."  The  Reedeemer  foretold  its  destruction,  be- 
cause of  the  inattention  of  its  inhabitants  to  those 
evidences  of  his  Messiahship  which,  by  teaching 
and  miracles,  he  had  brought  before  them.  "And 
thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven, 
shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell:  for  if  the  mighty 
works  which  have  been  done  in  thee  had  been  done 
in  Sodom,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day." 
This  prediction  has  been  so  strictly  fulfilled,  from  the 
cruelties  inflicted  on  its  inhabitants  by  the  Romans, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  its  site.  Nevertheless, 
there  are  historical  reminiscences  associated  with  Ca- 
pernaum, on  which  the  mind  of  the  disciple  of  Jesus 
must  ever  dwell  with  delight.     The  city  of  the  clear 


118  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

fountain,  for  such  is  the  derivation  of  its  name,  may 
be  a  desolation  now ;  but  he  who  gives  the  water  of 
hfe  freely  to  those  who  ask  him,  is  the  same  yester- 
day, to  day,  and  for  ever.  In  him  is  life.  He  is 
its  fountain,  its  perennial  spring,  and  its  benignant 
dispenser.  If  any  man  thirst  he  is  invited  to  come 
to  him  and  drink,  to  receive  the  Avater  of  life  freely, 
and  live  for  ever. 

Nor  can  we  doubt  the  power  to  save,  which  is 
possessed  by  him  at  whose  word  an  unclean  spirit  is 
compelled  to  leave  its  tortured  victim.  The  follow- 
ing narrative  supplies  an  illustration  of  this  power. 
"And  they  went  into  Capernaum;  and  straightway 
on  the  Sabbath  day  he  entered  into  the  synagogue, 
and  taught.  And  they  were  astonished  at  his  doc- 
trine :  for  he  taught  them  as  one  that  had  authority, 
and  not  as  the  scribes.  And  there  was  in  their  sy- 
nagogue a  man  with  an  unclean  spirit;  and  he  cried 
out,  saying.  Let  us  alone;  what  have  we  to  do  with 
thee,  thou  Jesus  of  Nazareth?  art  thou  come  to  de- 
stroy us?  I  know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One 
of  God.  And  Jesus  rebuked  him,  saying.  Hold  thy 
peace  and  come  out  of  him.  And  when  the  unclean 
spirit  had  torn  him,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  he 
came  out  of  him.  And  they  were  all  amazed,  inso- 
much that  they  questioned  among  themselves,  saying, 
What  thing  is  this?  what  new  doctrine  is  this?  for 
with  authority  commandeth  he  even  the  unclean 
spirits,  and  they  do  obey  him.  And  immediately 
his  fame  spread  abroad  throughout  all  the  regions 
round  about  Galilee." 

The  design  of  this  work  is  neither  critical  nor 
polemic,  otherwise  an  opportunity  now  presents  it- 


CAPERNAUM.  119 

self  of  vindicating  the  fidelity  of  the  common  trans- 
lation, of  proving  that  this  was  not  a  case  of  hniacy 
or  epilepsy,  and  of  exposing  the  fallacy  of  the  theory 
that  labours  to  get  rid  of  demoniacal  possession.  Nor 
is  there  any  reason  to  regret  that  this  purpose  is  not 
within  the  province  of  this  work,  as  it  has  been  ac- 
complished by  many  able  writers,  to  the  complete 
satisfaction  of  all  who  love  truth  more  than  party, 
and  who  desire  the  honour  of  the  Son  of  God  as  the 
highest  object  on  which  sanctified  intellect  can  em- 
ploy its  powers.  The  abettors  of  the  theory  in  ques- 
tion have  never  been  very  seriously  impressed  either 
with  the  depth  of  man's  moral  degradation,  or  with 
the  exalted  character  and  power  of  the  Redeemer. 
Our  design  is  practical,  and  our  consolation  is,  that 
Jesus  is  master  of  the  invisible  world ;  angels  in 
heaven,  and  the  unclean  spirits  of  the  dark  pit  being 
subject  unto  him. 

The  havoc  wrought  among  the  sons  of  men  by  the 
devil  and  his  angels,  has  been  so  fearful  as  to  sur- 
pass all  human  comprehension,  and  consequently  all 
human  description.  The  precise  mode  by  which 
diabolic  agency  influences  the  human  mind  is  also 
involved  in  obscurity.  It  were  strange,  indeed,  were 
it  otherwise ;  for  as  the  primary  motives  and  ope- 
rations of  our  own  minds  almost  constantly  elude 
detection,  how  is  possible  that  we  can  be  able  to 
analyze  the  character  and  trace  the  outgoings  of  an 
order  of  minds  far  more  subtle,  and  far  higher  in 
the  scale  of  intelligence,  than  our  own  ?  But  the 
fact  that  the  human  mind  is  influenced  by  unclean 
spirits  is,  alas !  not  among  theories  for  philosophic, 
or  metaphysical,  or  theological  speciflation.     It  is  a 


120  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

sad,  a  melancholy  truth,  attested  by  the  history  of 
mdividuals  and  nations;  by  the  experience  of  the 
world's  living  myriads;  by  the  repeated  declarations 
of  the  God  of  truth  in  his  holy  word ;  and  by  the 
character  and  provisions  of  the  plan  of  redemption. 
So  completely  has  the  race  fallen,  so  absolute  is  its 
moral  prostration,  and  so  thoroughly  has  it  been 
"possessed"  by  the  spirit  of  diabolic  madness,  that 
it  has  literally  done  what  the  adversary  wished  the 
Messiah  to  do:  it  has  fallen  down  and  worshipped 
the  devil!  In  every  land  sacrifice  has  been  offered 
to  him,  on  every  shore  he  has  had,  and  has  to  this 
hour,  his  shrines  and  his  temples,  his  emissaries 
and  his  priests !  And  the  number  of  demon  wor- 
shippers has  been  limited  only  by  the  world's  popu- 
lation— always  excepting  the  very  small  minority 
who  have  worshipped  the  true  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  Let  us  not  be  understood  as  referring  only 
to  those  lands  on  which  no  ray  of  revelation  has 
poured  its  healing  influence.  Facts  will  not  permit 
this  limitation.  Fidelity  to  God  sternly  forbids  it. 
Woe  be  unto  us  if  we  attempt  it !  Look  at  ancient 
Judea,  with  all  its  privileges.  What  demon  worship 
prevailed  there !  Look  at  Christendom,  with  its  still 
greater  privileges.  What  demon  whorship  has  pre- 
vailed in  it  for  fifteen  centuries!  Examine  popery, 
that  huge  counterpart  of  hell's  pandemonium,  and 
what  was  it,  nay  what  is  it, — for  it  will  undergo  no 
essential  change  until  its  predicted  doom  shall  be  ac- 
complished by  the  right  arm  of  Jesus, — what  is  it, 
we  ask,  but  the  gigantic  masterpiece  of  Satan? 
his  kingdom,  his  seat,  his  throne?  What  are  its 
canonized  "  Saints,"  but  enshrined  emissaries  of  the 


CAPEKNATJM.  121 

deceiver,  by  whose  agency  he  wrought  lying  won- 
ders? What  but  demon  worship  is  the  reverence, 
what  but  sacrificing  to  devils  are  the  offerings,  pre- 
sented to  them?  Look  at  England,  the  most  highly 
priA^ileged  nation  on  which  the  sun  shines;  and  what 
pride,  what  Ucentiousness,  what  covetousness,  what 
numbers  of  shrines  to  the  beast,  meet  us  on  every 
hand!  Is  this  uncharitable?  Would  tliat  it  were! 
The  religion  of  sentiment,  that  can  see  no  distinction 
between  the  Jove  of  heathenism  and  the  Jehovah 
of  the  Bible,  and  that  finds  the  test  of  safety  in  the 
sincerity  of  the  devotee,  and  that  has  a  palliating 
circumstance  for  the  most  outrageous  manifestations 
of  human  rebellion  against  the  eternal  God,  will 
doubtless  deem  it  so.  }3ut  it  is  the  uncharitableness 
that  finds  its  precedent  in  apostolic  writings.  And 
convinced,  on  the  one  hand,  that  scriptural  charity 
means  "speaking  the  truth  in  love," — not  concealing 
it  from  an  apprehension  that  it  would  disturb  the 
dreams  of  the  multitude, — and  on  the  other,  that  in- 
dividual Christians,  and  churches,  if  ever  they  learn 
to  discern  between  tilings  that  differ,  must  consult 
apostolic  writings  more,  must  study  the  life  and 
teachings  of  Christ  more,  and  must  run  the  risk  of 
a  collision  with  prevalent  indifference  to  all  vital 
truth,  though  it  wear  the  smile  and  assume  the  name 
of  charity,  we  are  willing  to  be  recognised  in  the 
field  which  we  are  sure  must  speedily  be  occupied 
by  all  whose  religion  is  "of  God  and  not  of  men." 

This  is  not  the  time  to  dwell  in  ceiled  houses, 
to  daub  v/ith  untempered  mortar,  to  preach  smooth 
things.  The  signs  of  the  times  are  in  the  highest 
degree  ominous.      Apostolic  religion  is  branded  by 

11 


122  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

many  as  old  wives'  fables.  We  are  importing  ra- 
tionalism and  neology  from  Germany,  popery  from 
Italy,  and  infidelity  from  France.  Our  national 
universities,  so  called,  although  the  most  sectarian 
schools  in  the  world,  are  the  hotbeds  of  popery. 
Our  endowed  church  has  given  her  power  to  the 
beast,  and  is  so  deeply  sunk  in  error,  that  we  pre- 
dict the  impossibility  of  her  recovery.  Our  dissent- 
ing churches  are  everywhere  complaining.  Ardent 
men  of  God  find  not  a  tithe  of  tlie  sympathy  to 
which  their  work  and  purposes  entitle  them.  There 
are  famines  in  divers  places;  wars  and  rumours  of 
war  mutter  in  the  distance;  men's  hearts  are  failing 
for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those  things  that  are 
coming  on  the  earth.  The  moral  landscape  is  every 
where  dark  with  the  shadow  of  a  thick  cloud.  The 
thrashing  instrument  is  at  work,  the  winnowing  pro- 
cess will  speedily  follow,  and  God  is  calling  to  his 
Church  to  "awake  as  in  the  ancient  days!"  Who, 
with  his  eyes  open,  can  doubt  the  truth  of  these 
representations?  Is  it  asked.  What  must  be  done  ? 
The  answer  is  at  hand.  There  must  be  an  immediate 
recurrence  to  the  first  principles  of  evangelic  truth. 
The  gospel  must  be  preached  as  ive  find  it  in  the 
New  Testament.  Jesus  must  be  heard  in  our  syna- 
gogues, commanding  the  unclean  spirit  to  leave  its 
victims. 

There  must  be  stronger  faith  exercised  in  the  pure 
unmixed  word  of  the  living  God.  There  must  be 
less  of  the  mechanical  in  the  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  more,  much  more,  of  the  simple,  fervent, 
and  therefore  efficient  ministrations  which  are  exem- 
plified in  the  preaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 


CAPERNAUM.  123 

The  earnestness  which  God's  truth  inspires  must 
be  seen  in  its  advocates.  The  principles  which  it 
enunciates  must  be  enunciated;  the  precepts  which 
it  enjoins  must  be  enforced;  the  discipUne  which  it 
recommends  must  be  adopted.  Expediency  must 
give  place  to  the  authority  of  Christ;  tradition  to  in- 
spiration; opinion  to  doctrine;  doubt  to  faith.  Con- 
formity to  the  world  must  make  room  for  conformity 
to  the  Saviour:  selfishness  must  make  room  for  love; 
discord  for  union;  form  for  fervour.  The  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  transform  and  bless,  must  be  a 
recognised  reality,  and  an  implored  blessing;  and 
instead  of  reasoning  with  depravity  and  the  unclean 
spirit  within,  as  if  the  power  of  logic  could  dislodge 
the  foe,  the  man  must  come  at  once  to  the  Saviour, 
who  alone  can  cast  him  out. 

Why  are  instances  of  the  power  of  Jesus  over 
devils  so  frequently  given  in  the  evangelical  narra- 
tive? Is  it  merely  that  we  may  class  these  instances 
among  the  evidences  of  his  Messiahship,  and  deduce 
thence  the  duty  of  listening  with  reverence  to  his 
teachings  as  the  messenger  of  the  covenant?  If  this 
were  all,  a  grand  point  would  be  indeed  gained,  a 
power  would  be  acquired  by  the  believer  with  which 
he  could  successfully  meet  the  onsets  of  infidelity, 
a  foothold  on  which  he  could  firmly  stand  amidst 
the  tumults  of  the  delirious  ocean  of  scepticism  and 
speculation  beneath  him;  but  this  is  not  all;  for 
these  instances  of  Messianic  authority  over  the  elder 
family  of  rebels  are  also  illustrations  of  what  he 
came  to  do,  and  of  what  he  is  daily  doing.  He 
came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  to  lead  cap- 
tivity captive,  to  break  the  arm  of  the  oppressor,  and 


124  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

to  liberate  the  bond  slaves  of  the  great  destroyer. 
The  usurper  had  taken  possession  of  this  fair  earth, 
and  had  filled  its  inhabitants  with  the  spirit  of  mad- 
ness. But  the  glorious  Creator  had  purposed  to 
place  this  world  under  a  mediatorial  government. 
The  sceptre  of  Jesus  swept  over  all  its  lands.  His 
infinite  love  embraced  its  countless  generations.  He 
destined  it  as  the  scene  of  his  achievements,  when 
the  fulness  of  the  time  should  come.  He  purposed 
to  defeat  the  usurper  in  his  strongholds,  and  to  vin- 
dicate his  own  right  to  the  homage  of  men.  Nor 
had  he  merely  a  single  enemy  to  conquer;  for  the 
world  of  men  were  also  opposed  to  his  authority; 
and  in  addition  to  the  twofold  power  of  him  that 
worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  and  the 
enmity  of  mankind  to  his  righteous  sceptre,  he  had 
also  to  magnify  and  make  honourable  the  insulted 
law  of  God,  to  show  how  he  could  be  just,  and  the 
justifier  of  the  ungodly,  and  to  prove  that  infinite 
wisdom  could  associate  spotless  righteousness  with 
love  to  the  rebellious  and  unholy. 

And  now  that  all  this  has  been  done,  what  remains 
for  the  subjects  of  sin  and  the  victims  of  Satan? 
Self-directed  efforts  to  escape  from  depravity — not  to 
mention  the  penalty  attached  to  transgression — with- 
out reference  to  the  Messiah,  granting,  for  a  moment, 
the  possibility  that  such  a  desire  may  be  awakened 
in  a  sinner's  breast  in  the  absence  of  a  Saviour's 
grace,  are  clearly  derogatory  to  his  claims  and  cha- 
racter, and  can  never  be  crowned  with  success. 
"No  man  is  crowned  except  he  strive  lawfully,"  and 
the  laiu  of  redemption  is  faith  in  the  Redeemer, 
And  efforts   to   control   the   evil  spirit  within,  or  to 


CAPERNAUM.  125 

cast  him  out  when  his  unholy  motions  agitate  the 
soul,  simply  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  moral 
character  and  retaining  a  fair  name  among  men,  will 
be,  likewise,  unsuccessful;  for  the  motive  from  which 
such  efforts  spring  is  decidedly  and  only  selfish;  but 
the  mediatorial  economy  requires  that  all  moral  ac- 
tions find  their  motive  in  the  honour  of  the  Mediator; 
hence,  to  lose  sight  of  this  unchanging  principle  is 
to  lose  sight  of  the  secret  of  success.  But  that  which 
we  have  granted  for  the  sake  of  argument,  cannot  be 
allowed  as  an  occurring  fact.  Men  uninfluenced  by 
divine  grace,  try  daily  to  get  rid  of  the  consequences 
of  sin,  that  is  of  the  internal  misery  which  it  creates, 
and  the  fear  of  punishment  which  it  inspires;  but 
where  the  honest  wish  exists  to  have  that  depravity, 
which  is  the  fountain  of  guilt,  dried  up,  there,  un- 
doubtedly, Christ  has  been  speaking  to  the  heart. 
We  have  before  us  this  class  of  persons,  especially 
that  portion  of  them  who  are  periodically  plunged 
into  grief  at  the  recurrence  of  strong  temptation,  and 
the  commission  of  besetting  sin. 

They  mourn,  and  repent,  and  pray,  and  are  again 
tempted,  and  again  yield  to  the  tempter,  and  go 
through  the  same  sorrowful  round.  Their  consciences 
are  a  burden,  their  lives  are  unhappy,  their  hope  is 
feeble,  and  not  a  few  of  them  take  refuge,  at  last,  in 
the  filthy  arms  of  antinomianism.  Indeed,  it  is  from 
such  parties  that  that  chaos  attracts  its  materials. 
Pretending  to  magnify  the  grace  of  God,  it  magnifies 
only  its  own  deformity;  but  it  offers  an  asylum, 
such  as  it  is,  to  parties  who,  if  their  first  impressions 
had  been  followed  to  their  results,  would  have 
adorned  the  Christian  profession,  and  enjoyed  the 

11* 


126  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

fellowship  of  "  the  children  of  light."  They  are  apt 
to  say,  in  their  sorrow,  that  no  one  was  ever  tried 
as  they  are ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  were  the  causes 
of  their  disappointment  presented  in  the  form  of  a 
question  regarding  the  unclean  spirit,  it  would  read 
thus :  "  Why  could  not  we  cast  him  out  ?"  Far 
be  it  from  them  to  arrogate  to  themselves  any  such 
power;  they  heartily  disclaim  it;  nevertheless,  they 
do  it  in  effect ;  for  they  expect  too  much  from  them- 
selves. If  they  looked  more  at  Christ,  and  less  at 
self,  the  result  would  be  widely  different.  The 
mariner,  who  gains  his  bread  on  the  restless  ocean, 
looks  upward  for  the  direction  of  the  wind ;  the 
husbandman  looks  upward  for  the  rain  of  heaven  to 
water  the  seed  which  God  has  given  him  to  cast  in 
the  earth ;  the  forest  songsters  look  for  the  dawn  of 
day  to  begin  their  melody ;  the  child  looks  up  for 
the  smile  of  its  parent  to  soothe  its  sorrows ;  the 
apostolic  Christians  beheld  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of 
the  Lord,  and  were  changed  into  the  same  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 
To  look  unto  Jesus  is  the  art  of  Christian  victory 
over  sin  and  Satan.  Let  the  eye  of  the  tempted  be 
fixed  on  him.  Gaze  on  the  bright  love  that  gushes 
from  his  divine  heart;  look  on  the  firmament  of 
glory  that  surrounds  his  presence,  on  the  many 
crowns  that  encircle  his  head,  and  on  the  treasures 
of  grace  that  are  in  his  hand,  and  the  darkest  fiend 
will  vanish.  The  unclean  spirit  cannot  bear  the  look 
of  his  eye.  Open  the  heart  to  him.  Let  him  in. 
Make  room  for  him.  Dwell  upon  his  measureless 
compassion,  study  his  matchless  character,  read  the 
victories  of  his  strong  right  hand — in  one  word,  look 


CAPERNAUM.  127 

at  him,  and  inevitably  the  depravity  of  the  soul  will 
diminish,  the  tempter  will  flee,  and,  continuing  this 
process,  the  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding  will 
be  experienced.  The  Christian  life  is  a  life  derived 
from  Christ.  From  the  moment  of  conversion  to  the 
hour  of  death,  therefore,  the  follower  must  keep  his 
eye  on  his  guide,  the  disciple  must  sit  at  the  feet 
of  his  Lord,  the  pardoned  sinner  must  trust  to  his 
Saviour,  and  the  servant  must  obey  his  master. 
Growth  in  grace  is  assimilation  to  Christ,  but  assi- 
milation supposes  communion,  and  communion  sup- 
poses faith;  to  look  unto  Jesus,  therefore,  is  the 
way  to  hear  his  voice,  commanding  the  tempter  to 
depart. 

Is  his  power  doubted?  The  evil  spirit  in  the  pas- 
sage quoted  above,  doubted  it  not.  "Art  thou  come 
to  destroy  us.^  I  know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy 
One  of  God."  James  tells  us,  tliat  "the  devils  be- 
lieve and  tremble."  Why  should  those  whom  he 
came  expressly  to  save,  doubt  his  ability  to  do  so? 
Has  he  failed  in  any  part  of  his  appointed  work? 
Why  then  dishonour  him  with  this  unbelief?  He 
who  bruised  the  head  of  the  serpent,  and  on  whose 
shoulders  is  the  government,  and  at  whose  girdle 
are  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death,  and  whose  coun- 
tenance is  as  the  sun  shining  in  his  strength,  is  able 
to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God 
by  him. 

"  Trust  in  the  Lord,  for  ever  trust, 
And  banish  all  your  fears: 
Strength  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  dwells, 
Eternal  as  his  years." 


128  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

"Be  Strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his 
might.  Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil. 
And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet  shortly." 

Is  his  wilhngness  doubted?  With  the  gospel  in 
your  hands?  His  willingness  to  save  from  sin  and 
Satan  doubted  after  the  declaration  of  his  love  and 
purposes?  After  his  incarnation,  life,  miracles,  in- 
vitations, promises,  death,  atonement,  resurrection, 
triumph,  and  ascension  to  glory  as  the  acknowledged 
head  of  all  principality  and  power?  After  the  pub- 
lication of  the  fact  of  his  intercession,  the  descent  of 
his  Spirit,  the  establishment  of  his  Church,  and  the 
constant  raising  up  of  faithful  ministers  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature?  To  doubt  is  to  dishonour 
him,  and  to  prescribe  limits  which  he  has  not  drawn, 
and  to  circumscribe  that  love  whose  encircling  girdle 
is  beyond  the  utmost  boundaries  of  human  necessity. 
But  election?  Yes!  It  is  a  doctrine  of  Scripture  as 
surely  as  is  the  death  of  Christ,  and  a  glorious  doc- 
trine it  is.  But  what,  say  you — what  if  I  am  not  one 
of  the  elect?  Yes  you  are,  except  you  refuse  to  be 
saved  by  the  Son  of  God,  and  Avillingly  reject  his 
great  salvation.  It  may  as  well  be  said,  that  because 
the  sun  is  a  fixed  orb,  you  may  not  derive  warmth 
from  his  beams,  as  because  election  is  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  system  of  mercy,  there  is  uncertainty 
whether  that  system  may  benefit  you.  Your  chance 
of  hght  from  an  erratic  sun  would  be  far  less  than 
it  is  from  a  fixed  one.  Election  is  among  the  se- 
curities of  successful   application  to   the   Redeemer. 


CAPERNAUM.  129 

Without  election  you  might  be  rejected;  with  it, 
look  to  Jesus,  and  you  will  be  accepted  in  the  be- 
loved. 

What  doubt  remains?  The  greatness  of  yonr 
transgression?  Is  it  greater  than  the  love  of  God 
and  the  merits  of  the  atonement  can  meet?  Was 
not  its  greatness  foreseen  and  provided  against?  Is 
not  its  greatness  the  most  impressive  argument  for 
an  immediate  acceptance  of  offered  forgiveness?  We 
liave  read  of  one  who  thought  so,  and  who  used  this 
argument  in  prayer:  "For  thy  name's  sake,  0  Lord, 
pardon  mine  iniquity;  for  it  is  great;''''  and  as  the 
efficacy  of  atoning  blood  is  not  partial,  but  complete, 
there  is  inspired  security  for  confidence  in  the  Re- 
deemer: "The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from 
all  sinP 

All  this  earnest  attention,  however,  to  the  person, 
work,  and  character  of  the  Messiah,  does  not  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  self-examination.  If  the  former 
is  the  road  to  victory,  the  latter  is  the  process  by 
which  the  stages  of  the  journey  are  marked.  The 
mariner,  we  have  said,  looks  upward  for  the  direction 
of  the  wind;  but  he  also  examines  his  chart  from 
time  to  time.  He  must  ascertain  the  latitude.  The 
husbandman  looks  upward  for  the  rain  of  heaven; 
but  he  must  also  extirpate  noxious  weeds  from  the 
fields.  The  Christian  looks  upward  for  the  grace 
of  his  Saviour;  but  he  must  also  examine  himself 
whether  he  be  in  the  faith;  whether  he  love  the 
truth;  whether  the  ordinances  of  his  Master  be  a 
pleasure  or  a  burden;  he  must  watch  and  pray  that 
he  enter  not  into  temptation;  he  must  avoid  the  ap- 


130  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

pearance  of  evil;  and  he  must  resist  the  devil;  but 
to  enable  him  to  do  all  this  successfully,  he  must, 
with  calm  and  steady  faith,  look  for  his  Lord's  abun- 
dantly and  repeatedly  promised  Spirit.  To  look 
constantly  Avithin  on  the  dark  thought  and  impu- 
rities of  the  heart,  would  be  a  gloomy  task,  ending 
in  despair.  There  is  no  help  from  that  quarter,  no 
ray  of  light  from  that  region.  But  this  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  a  repeated  examination  of  the 
state  of  the  convictions  and  feelings  regarding  him 
who  is  the  grand  object  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  love, 
and  reverence.  The  one  is  like  the  poor  lame  tra- 
veller sitting  by  the  way  side,  moaning  over  his  in- 
juries, and  looking  with  dismay  on  the  thorns,  and 
stones,  and  quagmires,  that  lie  around  him;  but  the 
other  is  like  the  traveller  who,  though  conscious  of 
personal  inability  to  surmount  the  difficulties  of  the 
journey,  holds  on,  animated  by  the  hope  of  help 
and  home,  and  rest,  and  taking  note  with  thankful- 
ness of  this  interruption  surmounted,  and  that  hill 
crossed,  and  as  they  recede  behind  him,  hope  whis- 
pers, press  on:  the  wounds  of  the  way  will  be  all  cured 
at  home,  and  you  will  enjoy  it  the  more  from  the  fact 
that  the  journey  has  been  rough. 

We  believe  the  Scriptures  enjoin  this  combination 
of  faith  and  examination;  and  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  perseverance  of  the  saints  cannot  be  made  a 
source  of  consolation  if  they  are  disjoined,  will 
perhaps  not  be  disputed  by  any  who  think  scriptu- 
rally  on  this  all  important  subject.  Let  the  whole 
soul  rest  on  the  exalted  Redeemer,  and  it  will 
receive  strength;  but  let  it  employ  the  strength  it 


CAPERNAUM.  131 

receives  for  the  glory  of  the  giver,  in  its  gradual 
assimilation  to  his  most  glorious  character;  and  in 
due  time  the  disposession  of  every  unclean  spirit 
will  be  final.  The  authority  which  no  demon  dare 
dispute  will  say,  "  Come  out  of  him,  and  enter  no 
more  into  him." 


CHAPTER   X. 

"the   mount  of  beatitudes," 

THE    MESSIAH    AS    A    PREACHER. 

We  have  just  seen  our  Redeemer  surrounded  by  an 
astonished  congregation  in  a  Jewish  synagogue,  and 
giving  evidence  that  he  will  bruise  Satan  under  our 
feet  shortly,  by  casting  an  unclean  spirit,  with  a 
word,  out  of  a  man  into  whom  he  had  entered.  We 
now  see  him  on  a  mountain,  addressing  to  a  dense 
multitude  the  most  wonderful  discourse  on  record 
in  any  language.  Jesus  as  a  preacher;  the  Saviour 
of  mankind  inculcating  sublime  truths  on  a  mass 
of  human  beings  whose  hearts  he  intimately  knew; 
with  whose  feelings,  and  hopes,  and  fears,  and  cha- 
racter, and  history,  he  was  thoroughly  acquainted; 
whose  reception  or  rejection  of  himself,  as  the  Mes- 
siah, he  foresaw;  and  whose  individual  destiny  was 
spread  out  before  him  in  the  unclouded  clearness  of 
his  own  omniscience.  What  a  theme?  The  heart 
flies  back  to  the  scene,  the  feelings  instinctively 
prompt  the  wish  that  we  had  been  there;  we  try 
to  picture  the  appearance  of  the  speaker;  to  catch 
the  tones  of  his  voice,  to  look  upon  the  ray  of  min- 
gled love,  earnestness,  and  truthfulness,  that  beamed 
from  his  eye;  we  should  wish  that  eye  to  fall  on  ours, 
that  we  might  feel  the  thrill  of  unusual  emotion;  it 
would  be  heaven  if  we  loved  him;  it  would  set  fire 
to  our  conscience,  if  otherwise.    And  how  appear  the 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  133 

multitude?  Are  there  any  listless  among  them?  Are 
there  any  thinking  of  their  fields  or  their  merchan- 
dise? Are  there  any  inwardly  murmuring  at  his  doc- 
trine? Is  it  too  pure?  too  strict?  too  heart-searching? 
Is  there  a  resolution  in  one  breast  to  follow  him  at 
once  and  at  all  risks?  and  in  another,  to  hear  him 
again  ere  he  decide?  and  in  a  third,  to  accuse  him  to 
the  authorities,  as  a  deceiver?  This  much  is  certain, 
"  They  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine." 

But  imagination  fails  to  arrange  the  picture  of  the 
scene.  We  have,  however,  the  divine  sermon,  full 
of  meaning,  every  sentence  a  text,  every  principle 
enunciated  a  subject,  every  thought  suggestive  of 
multitudes  of  thoughts,  and.  every  allusion  recalling 
important  doctrinal  or  historical  facts. 

As  a  preacher,  Christ  addressed  his  hearers  di- 
rectly. He  spake  to  them.  "  Ye  have  heard  that  it 
hath  been  said,  but  I  say  unto  you."  Divine  truth 
was  intended  for  men  as  individuals.  It  is  calcu- 
lated to  meet  the  case  of  every  individual.  It  is 
adapted  to  all.  Coming  from  the  Divine  mind,  it 
asks  an  entrance  into  the  human  mind.  Its  appeals, 
its  arguments,  its  principles,  are  addressed  to  and 
fitted  for,  each  and  all.  Beaming  from  heaven,  it  is 
intended  to  shine  into  the  human  heart.  Its  path  is 
not  circuitous,  but  straight.  "  I  am  come  a  light 
into  the  world,"  said  its  Author,  "  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  me,  should  not  abide  in  darkness." 
"  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit, 
and  they  are  life."  "I  speak  to  the  world  those 
things  which  I  have  heard  of  Him  that  sent  me." 
"As  my  Father  hath  taught  me,  I  speak  these 
things."     There  is  nothing  so  important  to  man  as 

12 


134  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

the  reception  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  His  heart 
must  be  changed :  this  is  the  instrument  by  which  it 
is  effected.  He  needs  light:  it  is  here.  He  needs 
hope:  it  is  here.  He  needs  guidance:  it  is  here. 
He  has  lost  the  image  of  God:  he  will  find  it  here. 
He  has  lost  the  way  to  heaven: — here  is  direction, 
plain,  clear,  ample.  It  is  not  necessary,  then,  that 
every  preacher  of  the  gospel,  every  man  who  has 
been  entrusted  with  this  awfully  responsible  com- 
mission, should  study  the  mode  in  which  Christ  ad- 
dressed men  on  the  verities  of  the  gospel?  Should 
not  the  model  sermon  of  the  Great  Master  form  the 
standard  of  ministration?  We  beheve  that  the  at- 
tention of  the  audience,  and,  consequently,  the  ad- 
vancement of  their  spiritual  interests,  will  be  found 
generally  proportionate  to  the  earnest  fidelity  of  that 
minister,  the  model  of  whose  discourse  was  delivered 
on  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes.  Directness  of  address, 
the  eye  of  the  speaker  catching  those  of  his  hearers, 
and  beaming  with  affectionate  solicitude,  that  they 
should  believe  and  practise  the  truths  he  is  deliver- 
ing, and  which  it  is  evident  from  his  manner  are 
to  himself  more  precious  than  life,  is  surely  preferable 
to  the  monotonous  and  theorising  homily,  however 
much  truth  it  may  contain.  Congregations  are  sel- 
dom mistaken  in  their  judgment  as  to  whether  the 
preacher /ee/5  the  importance  of  his  subject.  They 
soon  find  out  whether  he  is 

"  Much  impress'd 
Himself,  as  conscious  of  his  awful  charge 
And  anxious  mainly  that  the  flock  he  feeds 
May  feel  it  too,  affectionate  in  look, 
And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 
A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men." 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  135 

There  is  nothing  more  painful  to  a  mind  deeply 
impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  interests  involved 
in  the  reception  or  rejection  of  God's  truth,  than  to 
see  men  ministering  therein  who  are  evidently  with- 
out solicitude  as  to  the  result  of  their  ministrations. 
They  occupy  certain  portions  of  time  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week  with  the  glowing  truths  of  revelation 
spread  out  before  them,  and  in  the  presence  of  a 
congregation  of  men  who  are  being  carried  with  the 
speed  of  time  to  the  bar  of  the  Great  Judge,  and 
yet  it  is  written  on  their  foreheads  that  they  have  no 
higlier  motive  than  the  discharge  of  an  expected 
duty,  arising  from  official  considerations.  They  are 
so  formal,  and  lifeless,  and  cold,  that  one  can  imagine 
their  sentences  suspended  around  their  pulpits  like 
icicles.  There  is  no  spiritual  animation  to  awaken 
corresponding  emotion  in  the  breasts  of  their  hearers. 
That  life-eliciting  faith  which  gave  tone  to  the  apos- 
tles as  ministers  of  Christ  is  not  theirs,  Paul  said, 
"We  believe,  and  therefore  speak,"  and  the  "love 
of  Christ  constraineth  us."  Peter  and  John  assigned 
the  following  reason  why  they  refused  to  attend  to 
the  prohibition  of  the  Jewish  council,  "We  cannot 
but  speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard." 
They  had  caught  the  living  spirit  of  their  Master, 
and  felt  not  only  that  "  necessity  was  laid  upon  them 
to  preach  the  gospel,"  but  also  that  directness  of 
address  "to  the  people,"  after  his  example,  was  a 
duty  and  an  honour.  Their  conviction  of  the  divine 
origin  of  the  message  they  delivered,  was  an  indwell- 
ing verity  in  their  souls.  It  was  the  life-blood  that 
permeated  their  understandings.  Hence  their  fer- 
vour.    Hence  their  eagerness.     Hence  their  engross- 


136  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

ing  solicitude  that  men  should  believe.-  And,  not 
forgetting  the  necessity  of  divine  influence  to  awaken 
any  sinner,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  hence 
their  success. 

There  is  no  subject  within  the  range  of  human  in- 
vestigation, so  well  fitted  to  awaken  fervid  eloquence 
of  thought  and  expression,  as  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  How  spiritual  ought  to  be  the  motives,  how 
impressive  the  appeals,  and  how  irresistible  the  ar- 
guments of  the  ambassador  of  Christ !  All  that  is 
grand  in  the  nature  of  God,  all  that  is  attractive  and 
wonderful  in  the  history  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  system 
of  mediation,  all  that  is  spirit-stirring  in  the  pros- 
pects of  the  penitent,  and  all  that  is  awful  in  the  des- 
tiny of  the  impenitent,  so  far  as  these  are  revealed, 
form  the  armory  from  which  he  is  to  select  his  wea- 
pons as  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  human  heart 
— a  revelation  in  itself — with  all  its  hopes  and  fears — 
alternating  like  the  light  and  cloud  of  a  northern 
sky,  when  spring  and  winter  are  striving  for  pos- 
session of  the  earth — with  all  its  aspirations  and  mis- 
givings, heroic  resolutions  and  sorrowful  falls,  its 
serene  studies  of  the  high  and  pure,  and  its  turbu- 
lent passions,  tossing  it  like  the  plaything  of  some 
mysterious  power  on  the  dark  and  dangerous  rocks 
of  moral  life;  its  sudden  gUmpses  of  joy  unspeak- 
able, and  its  bursts  of  unutterable  grief;  its  glorious 
sensations,  when  in  happy  moments  the  angels  of 
heaven  seem  to  make  melody  within  it,  and  its  unre- 
vealed  anguish  when  it  feels  as  if  poisonous  serpents 
were  coiled  around  its  core;  the  human  heart,  we  say, 
with  these  and  kindred  characteristics  of  its  myste- 
rious nature,  forms  the  wide  field  on  which,  as  a  sol- 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  137 

dier  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  is  to  do  battle  with  his  Mas- 
ter's foes.  Here  he  is  to  ply  those  motives,  here  to 
impress  those  appeals,  and  liere  to  use  those  argu- 
ments, with  which  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God  furnishes  him.  Mere  skirmishing  cannot  do. 
It  is  neither  honest  in  the  sight  of  God,  nor  in  that 
of  men.  It  is  a  betrayal  of  trnst,  and  the  result  is 
failure.  "Speaking  the  truth,"  without  fear  or  com- 
promise, "in  love,"  and  directly,  as  "in  Christ's 
stead,"  who  has  set  the  example  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  would  have  his  creatures  addressed,  is 
every  way  preferable. 

Our  Lord's  ministry  is  distinguished  by  an  uncom- 
promising exposure  of  the  ?naxims  and  opinions  of 
worldly  society.  The  poor  in  spirit,  the  mourners, 
the  meek,  those  Avho  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness, the  merciful,  the  pure  in  heart,  the  peace- 
makers, and  those  who  are  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  are  all  pronounced  blessed,  and  com- 
manded to  rejoice.  Characters  and  dispositions  the 
reverse  of  all  this,  however,  are  applauded  by  human 
society  in  general;  and  the  cultivation  of  feelings 
foreign  to  those  on  which  the  Messiah's  benediction 
descends,  is  deemed  honourable  among  worldly  men. 
Oaths,  retaliation,  and  revenge,  are  all  strictly  for- 
bidden by  him;  but  the  spirit  of  the  world  encou- 
rages the  manifestations  of  human  passion,  calling 
them  spirited  and  manly,  and  honouring  their  exhi- 
bition with  applause  and  rewards.  Generosity  of 
conduct  and  expansive  charity  are  inculcated  by  the 
Divine  preacher;  but  selfishness,  sordid  calculation, 
and  sectarian  interests,  are  patented  by  the  world  as 
evidences  of  true  wisdom.  The  love  of  enemies  is 
12* 


138  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

laid  down  by  Christ  as  a  precept  to  he  oheyed  in 
his  spiritual  kingdom;  but  the  maxim,  "Thou  slialt 
hate  thine  enemy,"  obtains  the  suffrage  of  mankind 
at  large. 

Confident  that  the  Church  of  Christ  will  never 
achieve  those  triumphs  over  the  world  which  pro- 
phecy reserves  for  her,  \nitil  she  renounce  sympatiiy 
with  worldly  maxims,  which  have  no  higher  origin 
than  the  proud  impulses  of  the  unrenewed  heart,  we 
feel  that  the  time  has  come  for  an  effort  to  be  made 
literally  to  obey  those  divine  precepts.  Her  duty  is 
to  obey,  whatever  sacrifice  it  may  involve.  Her 
duty  is  to  imitate  her  Lord's  conduct,  whatever 
amount  of  scorn  such  imitation  may  reap  from  the 
surprised  world.  Indeed,  scorn  so  purchased  would 
be  a  far  surer  sign  of  spiritual  health  in  the  Church, 
than  that  interchange  of  friendly  greetings  which  at 
present  prevails.  If  affinity  between  the  world  and 
the  Church  ever  exhibit  itself,  it  is  certain  that  the 
latter  is  gnilty  of  a  sinful  concession  of  principles 
which  she  was  called  into  being  to  illustrate  to  man- 
kind; for  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  former 
change  not.  To  talk  of  a  compromise  between  the 
two  is  incorrect,  for  a  compromise  supposes  mutual 
concessions,  and  the  world  will  not  concede  any  of 
its  cherished  maxims  out  of  respect  to  the  claims  of 
the  Redeemer,  otherwise  it  would  surrender  itself  at 
once  to  his  spiritual  sceptre;  but  even  if  it  did  con- 
cede anything,  still  a  compromise  could  not  be  ef- 
fected without  deep  dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part 
of  the  Church,  for  she  dare  not  cede  any  of  those 
principles  which  her  founder  has  sanctioned  and  re- 
vealed for  her  guidance,  whatever  may  be  the  amount 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  139 

of  temporal  advantage  held  out  as  the  price  of  the 
concession.  It  is  a  betrayal  of  trust,  for  those  prin- 
ciples are  not  o{  her  creation,  nor  are  they  susceptible 
of  modification  at  her  pleasure.  They  are  the  laws 
of  that  kingdom  of  which  the  Messiah  is  sole  Sove- 
reign, and  all  who  profess  allegiance  to  him  are 
bound  to  yield  implicit  obedience  to  them,  otherwise 
they  forfeit  the  honour  attached  to  loyalty,  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  transgression.  It  is  griev- 
ous that  the  laws  of  the  Saviour  should  be  allowed 
by  his  professed  followers,  from  whom  alone,  of 
course,  obedience  is  expected,  to  lie  inoperative  in 
the  statute  book  of  his  kingdom;  and  especially  is 
this  matter  of  lamentation,  v/hen  it  is  acknowledged 
by  all  Christians,  irrespective  of  sectional  attachments, 
that  the  practical  recognition  of  those  laws  would 
raise  the  Church  to  an  elevation  of  influence  such  as 
she  has  never  yet  reached.  It  will  be  accepted  as  a 
truism  that  she  will  be  prosperous,  and  spiritually 
powerful,  and  happy,  in  exact  proportion  to  her 
fidelity  in  carrying  out  the  principles  of  her  Founder; 
she  will  become  what  he  designed  her,  "a  city  set 
on  a  hill;"  and  yet,  though  all  this  is  without  contro- 
versy, she  has  lisped  the  language  and  imbibed  the 
maxims  of  earth  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  line 
which  separates  the  spiritual  from  the  secular  do- 
minion has  become  so  attenuated  in  many  places,  as 
to  escape  observation.  An  observer  cannot  tell  where 
the  Church  begins,  nor  decide  the  boundaries  be- 
tween it  and  the  world.  Nor  is  this  all.  As  if  in 
direct  contravention  of  the  principles  under  review, 
brother  goelh  to  law  with  brother,  many  professedly 
Christian  men  and  Christian  ministers  encom-age  re- 


140  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

taliation  and  revenge,  and  actually  lend  their  ready 
aid  to  international  hostilities,  give  their  vote  in  fa- 
vour of  the  world's  grand  curse,  war,  and  bless  the 
insignia  of  destruction  and  death.  "These  things 
ought  not  so  to  be."  For  thus  it  is  written  of  the 
Master,  conformity  to  whom  is  the  ultimate  design 
of  the  whole  system  of  grace  and  mercy,  "When 
he  was  reviled,  he  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suf- 
fered, he  threatened  not;  but  committed  himself  to 
him  that  judgeth  righteously."  Nor  is  even  this 
all.  For  so  thoroughly  secularized  are  many  por- 
tions of  the  nominal  church,  that  its  ministers  have 
stooped  to  the  degradation,  beyond  which  there  is 
no  depth,  of  receiving  wages  from  the  ungodly  go- 
vernments of  the  secular  kingdoms  of  this  world. 
Are  those  men,  and  such  as  think  with  them,  in  a  fit 
position  to  expose  the  maxims  of  human  society,  and 
to  maintain  the  principles  enunciated  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount?  Can  they  lift  up  their  voices  from 
their  pit  of  degradation,  and  shout  in  the  dull  ears  of 
their  paymasters  and  mankind  at  large — "No  legal 
interference  with  Christianity!  Swear  not  at  all! 
No  resistance  of  evil !  No  going  to  law  !  No  retalia- 
tion! No  revenge!  No  warlike  dispositions!  No 
secular  bribes  to  sileuce  the  ambassadors  of  Christ 
from  the  free  exposition  of  his  eternal  laws!  There 
must  be  a  separation  between  cause  and  eftect,  before 
this  phenomenon  can  be  looked  for  in  such  regions. 
But  that  every  follower  of  Messiah  should  endeavour 
to  render  literal  obedience  to  the  precepts  of  his 
Master  touching  oaths,  non-resistance,  peace,  for- 
giveness, benevolence,  and  love,  appears  to  us  clear 
as  the  noon  day.     The  maxims  of  the  world  on  these 


THE    MOUNT    OP    BEATITUDES.  141 

subjects,  will  hold  their  place  unmolested,  until 
Christians  rebuke  them  by  taking  their  opposites 
out  of  the  region  of  theory,  and  learn  to  embody 
them  in  habitual  practice ;  but  so  long  as  the  Church 
acts  with  the  world,  the  latter  will  allow  the  former 
to  think  as  she  pleases.  Christian  principles  will  be 
allowed  to  rest  in  their  niches  in  the  firmanent  un- 
disturbed; but  if  they  are  to  come  in  collision  with 
society,  so  as  to  overthrow  its  idols,  they  must  be 
brought  down  to  earth,  and  become  incarnate  in  the 
conduct  and  actions  of  living  men. 

As  might  be  expected,  our  Lord's  sermon  is  pre- 
eminently distinguished  by  spirituality.  Those  crimes, 
the  commission  of  which  is  alone  cognizable  by  so- 
ciety, are  by  him  detected  in  embryo  in  the  human 
breast.  Every  passion  is  traced  to  its  root.  With 
a  power  of  mental  analysis  unequalled,  he  lays  bare 
the  inception  of  the  desire.  Its  beginning  is  noted. 
The  licentious  wish  is  classed  among  crimes  in  the 
sight  of  God.  The  evil  purpose  is  evil  committed. 
The  overt  act  is  not  the  essence  of  the  crime;  it 
is,  when  desired,  "committed  already  in  the  heart.'* 
The  Redeemer's  doctrine  is  that  the  unholy  thought 
cherished  is  sin,  and  that  God  determines  the  man's 
character  by  the  state  of  his  heart.  How  soul-search- 
ing is  such  a  religion  as  this !  It  passes  by  all  con- 
ventionalisms and  forms,  all  appearances  and  pro- 
fessions, and  carries  its  burning  light  tlu^ough  every 
inward  motion,  desire,  and  purpose,  to  examine  their 
nature  and  pronounce  on  their  character!  How  easy 
is  it  to  see  that  such  a  religion  would  never  have  had 
a  disciple  in  this  world,  but  for  power  from  on  high ! 
This  view  of  the  case,  if  any,  proves  the  need  of 


142  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

the  Holy  Spirit  to  create  the  love  of  purity;  and  how 
obvious  is  it  also  tliat  all  who  recognise  this  prin- 
ciple of  judgment  must  judge  and  condemn  them- 
selves, and  mourn  over  the  thoughts  of  their  hearts! 
The  truth  is,  the  religion  which  saves  man  must  Jirst 
condemn  him.  To  be  benefited  by  it  he  must  take 
it  as  it  is.  understand  its  first  principles,  and  submit 
to  its  teachings,  however  humiliating,  and  whatever 
amount  of  heart-care  it  may  demand.  External  pro- 
priety will  follow  internal  regulation,  but  it  is  clearly 
a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  former  will  do  without 
the  latter,  or  that  morality  of  conduct  can  be  substi- 
tuted for  that  system  which  says,  "  keep  thy  heart 
with  all  diligence."  The  public  teacher  of  Chris- 
tianity who  loses  sight  of  its  spiritual  requirements 
and  sanctions,  loses  sight  of  those  things  which  con- 
stitute its  very  essence,  and  in  which  its  great  strength 
lies.  It  exposes  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  that  it  may 
regulate  them.  It  sheds  light  on  its  pollution  that 
it  may  purify  it.  It  humbles  that  it  may  exalt.  It 
"makes  sorry,"  that  it  may  fill  with  "joy  unspeak- 
able." 

But  having  pursued  a  somewhat  similar  course  of 
thought  in  a  previous  chapter,  we  notice  another 
characteristic  of  our  Lord's  ministry — its  discursive 
quality.  Not  only  in  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  but 
also  throughout  the  whole  range  of  his  instructions 
is  this  trait  manifest.  He  mentions  a  common  fact, 
or  incident,  with  which  the  experience  of  men  made 
them  acquainted,  and  immediately  associates  with 
it  some  great  doctrine  of  his  religion,  or  bases  on 
it  some  religious  precept  to  which  it  bears  some 
analogy,  or  with  which  it  has  some  correspondence. 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  143 

Thus:  "Men  do  not  light  a  candle,  and  put  it  under 
a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick;  and  it  giveth  light 
unto  all  that  are  in  the  house."  All  men  knew  this; 
but  what  follows?  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  Again:  "  Moth  and 
rust  corrupt,  and  thieves  break  through  and  steal 
your  earthly  treasures;  this  was  well  known,  to 
the  grief  of  multitudes,  but  it  gives  occasion  to  a 
memorable  precept:  "Lay  up  for  yourselves  trea- 
sures in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth 
corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through 
and  steal."  It  is  also  every  where  known,  that 
"  where  the  treasure  is,  there  will  the  heart  be  also." 
The  affections  of  the  friend  fly  to  his  absent  friend. 
The  heart  of  the  wife  lingers  around  the  place 
where  her  husband  makes  a  temporary  sojourn,  and 
his  affections  return  to  his  distant  home.  So  with 
the  parent  and  the  child;  and  so  with  all  the  trea- 
sures of  life,  real  or  imaginary.  The  man  of  the 
world,  who  deems  wealth  the  chief  good,  has  his 
heart  where  his  treasures  lie.  From  this  indisputable 
truth  our  Lord  rises  to  the  heavenly  world,  and  gives 
a  test  of  character,  by  intimating  that  if  we  have 
treasure  in  heaven,  our  heart,  our  affections,  will  be 
there  also.  "No  man  can  serve  two  masters."  True. 
]\Iark  the  momentous  doctrine  that  follows — a  doc- 
trine which,  if  attended  to,  would,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
unchurch  one-half  of  the  professedly  Christian  com- 
munity— "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon." 
llie  doctrine  of  the  universality  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence is  brought  under  notice  thus:  "The  fowls  of 
the  air  neither  sow,  nor  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns," 


144  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

a  fact  evident  to  all;  but,  "your  heavenly  Father 
feedeth  them."  What  subhmity  and  beauty  are  here! 
and  what  a  consolation  to  the  Christian!  He,  too, 
"shall  be  fed!"  Elsewhere  the  same  doctrine  is 
taught  still  more  strikingly.  "Are  not  two  sparrows 
sold  for  a  farthing?"  Every  boy  in  Jerusalem  knew 
this;  but  what  follows  is  beyond  the  unaided  dis- 
covery of  the  profoundest  philosopher  that  ever  trod 
the  earth;  it  is  pure  revelation;  "and  one  of  them 
shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father. 
But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered." 
What  all-comprehensive  care!  What  God-like  at- 
tention to  the  most  minute  interests  of  his  creatures 
is  brought  to  light  here!  "Never  man  spake  like 
this  man!"  Nor,  as  every  reader  of  the  New  Testa- 
ments knows,  was  it  merely  animated  nature  that 
formed  the  Saviour's  text  book;  every  thing  over 
which  the  eye  swept,  furnished  its  willing  quota  to 
aid  in  delighting  and  blessing  man.  "Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin.  And  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like 
one  of  these.  Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass 
of  the  field,  which  to  day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast 
into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you,  0 
ye  of  little  faith?" 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  amplify  on  this  delightful 
theme.  This  is  only  a  specimen.  But  there  is  ano- 
ther feature  of  the  great  sermon,  which  is  at  once  so 
prominent  and  important  that  it  cannot  be  overlook- 
ed. It  reveals  what  the  philosophers  of  antiquity 
vainly  attempted  to  discover — the  source  of  human 
happiness.     Its  primary  and  contributory  springs  are 


THE    MOUNT    OF    BEATITUDES.  145 

pointed  out.  The  language  in  wliich  tliis  is  clone  is 
simple  and  affectionate.  The  glorious  Preacher  would 
win  men  to  himself;  and  consequently,  there  is  no- 
thing to  repel,  but  everything  to  attract.  The  pure 
stream  from  the  fountain  of  life  flows  on  in  grace 
and  beauty.  "He  was  fairer  than  the  children  of 
men;  grace  was  poured  into  his  lips."  The  rocky 
heart  melted,  and  the  stubborn  knee  bent  before 
him,  while  he  pointed  out  that  for  which  every  soul 
yearned — happiness.  To  reveal  this  secret,  and  to 
unfold  the  way  to  its  possession,  were  among  the 
objects  for  which  he  came  down  from  the  celestial 
world.  Amply  did  he  fulfil  his  mission,  and  whoso- 
ever folio  weth  him  shall  not  walk  in  darkness  on 
the  all-engrossing  question.  Where  is  happiness  to 
be  found?  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God." 
"He  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father,  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "Whosoever  heareth 
these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken 
him  unto  a  wise  man,  who  built  his  house  upon  a 
rock:  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came, 
and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house;  and 
it  fell  not:  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock."  "Enter 
ye  in  at  the  strait  gate:  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and 
broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and 
many  there  be  who  go  in  thereat:  because  strait 
is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which  leadeth 
unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  And  else- 
where:— "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart:  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. 
For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light." 

13 


146  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

How  great  is  the  honour  put  upon  the  ministers  of 
such  a  Saviour !  It  is  theirs  to  point  to  the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world;  to  win 
the  lost  from  spiritual  error  and  misery;  to  ditfuse 
the  high  and  holy  principles  of  divine  truth;  to  en- 
courage the  weak  and  timid  to  press  forward;  to 
cheer  the  desponding,  by  representations  of  the  abun- 
dant grace  of  their  exalted  Master;  to  console  the 
afflicted,  by  considerations  drawn  from  the  end  of 
chastisement;  to  arrest  the  wanderer  in  his  sunless 
path,  by  turning  his  eye  to  the  Light  of  the  World; 
to  enlighten  the  dark,  from  the  living  pages  of  inspi- 
ration; to  rebuke  the  false  maxims  of  the  world,  by 
holding  up  the  doctrines  of  the  cross;  and  to  point 
the  way  to  permanent  happiness  and  full  joy,  amidst 
the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  to  all  who  look 
for  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  and  all  this  they  will  be  instru- 
mental in  doing,  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
proportion  as  they  study  the  manner  and  comprehend 
the  matter  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


CHAPTER   XL 


JERUSALEM. 


THE     SABBATH     CURE. 


The  preceding  chapter  was  concluded  by  a  reflection 
on  the  honour  put  upon  the  ministers  of  Jesus,  seeing 
that  they  are  privileged  instrumentally  to  comnui- 
nicate  knowledge,  comfort,  peace,  and  hope  to  their 
fellow  men.  To  a  benevolent  mind  there  is  nothing 
more  delightful  than  to  be  the  agent  in  diminishing 
the  amount  of  human  misery,  and  increasing  the 
amount  of  human  comforts.  Briars  and  thorns,  pains 
and  sorrows,  are  thickly  scattered  on  the  highway 
of  human  life.  The  foot-print  of  the  traveller  fre- 
quently becomes  a  bed  for  his  tears;  and  in  his 
journey  through  life  he  leaves  behind  him  many  a 
spot  rendered  solemnly  memorable  by  heart-wring- 
ing associations.  If  a  Christian,  he  can  recall  scenes 
where,  afraid  of  some  threatened  disaster  which 
hung  in  the  distance  like  a  thick  black  cloud,  his 
only  resource  was  prayer  to  the  ever  present  God 
of  his  salvation,  whose  power  to  deliver  is  as  great 
in  the  stormy  night  as  in  the  calm  of  noon;  and 
where,  fervently  and  importunately — though  some- 
times startled  by  the  sudden  fear  lest  his  impor- 
tunity should  border  on  presumption — "  he  wrestled 
until  the  breaking  of  the  day."     It  may  be,  also,  tliat 


148  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

memory  goes  back  to  some  lodge  in  the  wilderness, 
where,  and  to  the  day  and  the  honr,  when  the  last 
enemy,  whose  awful  presence  imposed  profound 
silence  on  every  tongue,  entered  to  bear  away  the 
young  spirit  of  some  beloved  child,  who  was,  in  his 
eye  at  least,  the  fairest  of  children.  The  arrow 
struck  his  heart,  and  carried  away  a  portion  thereof, 
wliich  can  never  be  replaced,  for  it  lies  with  the 
wasting  body  of  his  child  among  the  dust  of  the  earth. 
But  his  tears  were  few;  for  when  he  looked  from  die 
corpse  of  his  child  to  the  anguish-smitten  counte- 
nance of  the  bereaved  mother,  the  fountain  became 
suddenly  choked.  Sorrows  such  as  these  mark  the 
life  of  man;  but  the  gospel  of  Jesus  explains  the 
secret  of  them  all,  and  promises  to  bless  them  all  to 
those  who  love  God;  and  it  is  the  high  privilege  of 
the  servants  of  the  Redeemer,  whether  they  are  pas- 
tors, or  teachers,  or  private  Christians,  to  carry  those 
promises  to  the  ear  of  the  sorrowing,  that  by  their 
sanctified  influence  he  may  get  "beauty  for  ashes, 
the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness."  And  not  only  have  the 
consolations  of  the  gospel  been  provided,  but  God 
has  also  appointed  one  day  in  seven  as  a  day  of  rest 
— the  Sabbath — during  which  peculiar  facilities  are 
aiforded  for  the  manifestation  of  his  great  mercy  to 
the  children  of  men. 

The  Messiah  had  descended  from  the  mountain, 
cleansed  a  leper  by  a  touch,  returned  to  Capernaum, 
where  the  fame  of  his  presence  had  attracted  multi- 
tudes, healed  a  man  disabled  by  the  palsy,  vindicated 
his  power  to  forgive  sins,  and  called  Matthew  to 
follow  him;  after  which,  says  John,  "there  was  a 


JERUSALEM.  149 

feast  of  the  Jews,  and  Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem." 
Althougli  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  our  object 
whicli  of  tlie  Jewish  feasts  this  was,  yet  it  may  be 
proper  to  state  that  tlie  evidence  in  favour  of  its  being 
the  passover  is  pecuharly  strong.  It  was  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  on  the  Sabbath,  that  Jesus,  while  look- 
ing on  the  diseased  persons  who  lay  in  the  porches 
or  cloisters  of  Bethesda,  saw  a  man  who,  for  thirty- 
eight  years,  had  been  the  subject  of  some  bodily  in- 
firmity, which  appears  to  have  deprived  him  of  the 
use  of  his  limbs.  Moved  with  that  compassion  wliich 
ever  distinguished  him,  and  which  was  one  of  the 
predicted  characteristics  of  the  Messiah,  he  com- 
manded the  helpless  man  to  rise,  take  up  his  bed, 
and  walk.  With  the  command  health  and  strength 
were  communicated;  the  astonished  invalid  was  im- 
mediately made  whole.  The  grace  and  mercy  of 
the  Redeemer  were  beautifully  illustrated  by  this 
miracle,  and  another  evidence  was  afforded  that  he 
is  the  Great  Physician.  The  querulous  attack  of  the 
Jews  on  the  restored  man,  has  no  interest  for  us 
beyond  the  fact,  that  in  this  connexion  we  look  on 
it  as  the  type  of  a  certain  class  of  modern  cynics, 
who  quarrel  with  everything  that  is  done  either  for 
the  bodies  or  souls  of  men,  except  it  be  done  in  strict 
accordance  with  certain  rules  or  forms  which  have 
received  the  sanction  of  their  superior  wisdom.  Al- 
though the  result  may  challenge  the  strictest  in- 
vestigation, yet  if  the  process  by  which  it  was  ob- 
tained was  not  step  by  step  according  to  their  theory, 
it  is  denounced  as  imposture.  However  well  puri- 
fied the  ore,  if  it  went  not  through  their  furnace,  it 
is  spurious.     This  is  the  spirit  that  prolongs  the  reign 

13'- 


150  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  sectarian  bitterness,  and  cramps  the  energies  of 
catholic  benevolence.  But,  if  we  mistake  not,  the 
spirit  that  animates  the  enlightened  Christian  would 
say,  show  me  a  man  who  has  been  turned  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God, 
and  though  the  doctrines  and  opinions  of  him  who 
was  the  agent  of  this  transformation  are  not  such  as 
I  can  heartily  countersign,  yet  I  thankfully  acknow- 
ledge the  result.  The  hand  of  God  is  here.  I  own 
it,  with  praise. 

The  deeply  interesting  discourse  delivered  by  our 
Lord  to  the  Jews  on  this  occasion,  will  be  found  in 
the  narrative,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by 
John.  In  it  he  vindicates  his  authority,  lays  claim 
to  equality  with  the  Father,  asserts  that  he  has 
power  to  raise  the  dead,  and  quicken  whom  he  will, 
and  that  all  judgment  is  committed  to  him;  declara- 
tions which  could  have  been  made  by  no  mere  crea- 
ture, without  incurring  the  most  fearful  guilt. 

We  return  to  the  Sabbath  cure.  "I  am  the  Lord 
that  healeth  thee."  Man,  by  nature,  is  the  subject 
of  moral  disease.  His  heart  is  disordered.  His  af- 
fections flow  in  corrupted  channels.  His  passions 
are  deranged.  His  thoughts  are  depraved.  His 
understanding  is  darkened.  His  intellect  is  covered 
with  a  noxious  cloud.  His  soul  is  sick  unto  death. 
His  practice  everywhere  corresponds  with  this  in- 
ward malady,  asserts  it,  proves  it,  cries  it  aloud.  The 
root  is  bitter;  so  is  the  fruit.  The  fountain  is  im- 
pure; so  is  the  stream.  He  is  without  God  in  the 
world.  He  lives,  he  knows  not  why;  he  acts,  he 
knows  not  for  what  end;  he  receives  mercies,  he 
knows  not  whence;  he  travels,  he  knows  not  whither; 


JERUSALEM.  151 

until  tlie  Father  of  lights  enlighten  him  from  on 
high.  And  his  physical  diseases  and  mortality  are 
at  once  the  result  and  proof  of  his  spiritual  fall.  It 
is  both  cruel  and  unscriptural  to  conceal  his  condition 
and  palliate  his  guilt.  He  must  be  healed  or  die. 
There  is  no  alternative.  Fidelity  in  representing  his 
case,  as  portrayed  iii  the  Scriptures,  is  the  greatest 
kindness.  The  true  picture  is  far  more  likely  to 
arouse  him  to  a  sense  of  his  imminent  danger,  and  to 
awaken  solicitude  for  his  safety  in  his  own  breast, 
than  that  temporizing  procedure  which  false  delicacy 
may  dictate.  The  qualifications  of  Jesus  relate  to 
the  necessities  of  man.  The  fulness  of  the  Saviour 
points  to  the  spiritual  emptiness  of  the  sinner.  The 
power  of  Christ  is  relative  to  the  weakness  of  those 
whom  he  came  to  save.  The  skill  of  the  Great  Phy- 
sician is  what  it  is,  because  the  diseases  of  men  are 
so  terrific,  that  no  less  competent  mind  could  com- 
prehend or  remove  them.  Even  the  Son  of  God 
has,  as  Mediator,  no  superfluous  endowment.  Hence, 
glowing  descriptions  of  the  fulness  of  grace  that  is  in 
Christ,  however  attractive,  and  however  scriptural 
they  may  be,  are  not  felt  in  their  relative  adaptation 
to  the  position  of  man  in  the  moral  universe  if  his 
true  condition  is  misrepresented,  or  lessened  in  the 
intensity  of  its  wretchedness.  But  such  juxtapositions 
seldom  occur.  The  silent  conservatism  of  truth  pre- 
vents it.  Hence  the  man  who  is  most  delighted  with 
the  grace  and  glory  of  the  Saviour,  is  also  the  man 
who  is  the  most  faithful  to  the  sinner.  The  same 
record  that  proclaims  the  exaltation  of  the  one,  pic- 
tures tlie  degradation  of  the  other.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  who  denies  human  depravity,  con- 


152  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

sistently  enough  denies  Christ's  deity.  A  partial 
fall  needs  only  a  partial  Saviour.  He  who  can  to 
some  extent  help  himself,  has  no  need  of  an  Omnipo- 
tent helper.  But  the  truth  is,  that  in  the  evangelic 
system,  the  qualifications  of  Christ  and  the  condition 
of  man  shed  mutual  light  on  each  other.  They  are 
relatively  explanatory.  The  fall  is  seen  in  the  cross; 
the  cross  is  illustrated  by  the  fall.  Myriads  of  Sab- 
bath cures  prove  all  this. 

What  a  mercy  to  mankind  is  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  the  Christian  Sabbath!  What  multitudes 
have  been  cured  on  that  day  by  the  word  of  Christ ! 
The  moral  disease  of  thirty-eight  years  standing  has 
heard  the  command  of  the  Great  Physician,  and  left 
its  subject.  The  spiritually  dead  have  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  lived.  The  snare  of 
the  fowler  has  been  broken,  and  the  entangled  mind 
has  escaped.  The  web  of  delusion,  woven  around 
the  soul,  has  been  riven  asunder.  The  bolts  have 
been  withdrawn,  and  the  captive  has  been  liberated. 
Those  who  sat  in  darkness  have  seen  a  great  light; 
and  those  who  were  groping  in  the  regions  of  death, 
have  seen  the  beams  of  the  Lord  of  life  pointing  the 
way  to  honour  and  immortality.  The  soul,  long  held 
under  the  tyrannic  sway  of  the  great  deceiver,  has 
been  drawn  to  the  Messiah,  and  directed  in  the  path 
of  liberty.  The  mind,  long  hostile  to  divine  truth, 
and  deeply  prejudiced  against  holiness,  has  been  won 
by  the  one,  and  attracted  by  the  other;  new  im- 
pulses have  been  felt,  new  desires  have  been  awa- 
kened, new  hopes  have  been  excited,  new  purposes 
have  been  formed,  and  a  new  life  has  given  evidence 
that  all  this  was  not  transitory,  but  the  work  of  the 


JERUSALEM.  153 

regenerating  Spirit,  effectually  applying  the  word  of 
Christ.  Insensibility  has  given  place  to  solicitude; 
indifference,  to  earnestness;  formaUsm,  to  piety; 
thoughtfulness,  to  self-searching;  worldliness,  to  god- 
liness. The  pursuit  of  the  shadows  of  time  has 
been  abandoned;  that  which  was  deemed  the  chief 
good  has  been  seen  to  be  a  mockery  and  a  snare, 
a  fallacy  and  a  lie,  and  eternal  substance  has  been 
pressed  after  as  the  only  legitimate  business  of  hu- 
man life,  the  grand  end  of  human  exertion.  The 
eye  has  been  opened,  the  heart  softened,  the  mider- 
standing  enlightened,  the  ear  circumcised.  Thoughts 
that  brooded  in  darkness  over  the  turbulent  spirit 
have  been  dispelled  by  the  breath  of  the  Lord;  and 
the  conscience,  whose  dread  recollections  and  dark 
forebodings  have  made  its  possessor  the  most  wretch- 
ed of  men,  has  been  sprinkled  by  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment, on  that  hallowed  day.  The  passion-tossed 
soul  has  heard  the  command,  "Peace,  be  still!" 
and  a  calm  surpassing  description  has  ensued.  The 
selfish  has  become  benevolent;  the  deceitful  upright; 
the  misanthropist,  patriotic;  the  cruel,  kind;  and  the 
lewd,  pure.  The  false  swearer  has  learned  integ- 
rity; the  infidel,  faith;  and  the  blasphemer  has  join- 
ed in  the  high  praises  of  our  God.  "The  word 
of  God''  has  been  felt  to  be  "quick  and  powerful, 
and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing 
even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and 
of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  to  be  a  discerner  of 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  All  these, 
whatever  their  former  degrees  of  darkness,  or  what- 
ever the  peculiarities  of  their  moral  diseases,  have, 
with  one  voice,  said,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 


154  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

slain!"  and  the  sons  of  God,  who  shouted  for  joy 
when  the  last  touch  was  given  to  the  stupendous 
creation  by  the  finger  of  God,  have  witnessed  with 
intense  admiration  the  new  creation  of  those  human 
spirits,  and  the  result  has  been  joy  in  heaven  among 
the  angels  of  God.  All  these  have  been  Sabbath 
cures.  Each  of  these  said,  "  It  was  Jesus  that  made 
me  whole." 

From  what  has  been  said  already  on  spiritual  wor- 
ship, the  writer  of  these  pages  trusts  it  is  superfluous 
for  him  to  guard  against  the  suspicion  that  he  enter- 
tains any  superstitious  veneration  for  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  as  a  day.  Those  whose  religion  is  con- 
fined to  the  Christian  Sabbath  are  destitute,  in  his 
judgment,  of  all  real  religion.  Whatever  their  pro- 
fession, they  "  are  yet  carnal."  They  have  need  to 
learn  "  which  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God. "  Prostration  on  the  Sabbath,  and  pride  during 
the  rest  of  the  week,  give  no  evidence  of  the  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  The  sound  of  the  church-going 
bells,"  in  itself  considered,  conveys  no  more  intelli- 
gence to  us  than  does  that  of  "  the  sounding  brass," 
or  "the  tinkling  cymbal;"  but  could  we  be  sure  that 
in  all  the  buildings  thus  adorned,  the  great  Physician 
is  proclaimed  in  his  grace  and  glory,  in  the  fulness 
of  his  mercy,  and  in  the  adaptation  of  his  healing 
power  to  fallen  men,  that  sound  would  fall  on  our  ear 
as  the  most  harmonious  instrumental  music  ever  in- 
vented. The  valleys  and  glens,  villages  and  towns 
of  our  land,  would  then  indeed  be  blessed,  and  mul- 
titudes, who  are  now  enfolded  in  the  fatal  garment 
of  self-righteousness,  would  catch  the  spirit  of  Paul's 
declaration,  when  he  said,  "I  count  all  things  but 


JERUSALEM.  155 

dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him, 
not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of 
the  law,  but  that  which  is  of  the  faith  of  Christ,  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.''  Never- 
theless, could  his  feeble  voice  reach  "  the  thousands 
of  Israel,"  he  would  say  with  emphatic  earnestness, 
value,  prize,  love  the  Sabbath !  It  commemorates 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  It 
affords  relaxation  from  the  cares  and  toils  of  this 
world,  and  yields  peaceful  opportunities  of  adoring 
the  great  God,  in  whom  we  live  and  move,  and  have 
our  being.  It  grants  facilities,  not  exclusive,  but 
peculiar,  as  already  remarked,  for  hearing  about  the 
incarnation,  and  work,  and  character,  and  sacrifice, 
and  government  of  the  Son  of  God.  His  power  to 
heal,  and  the  necessity  to  man  of  his  healing  power, 
are  then  explained  and  enforced.  The  reminiscences 
of  the  Sabbath,  the  associations  of  the  Sabbath,  the 
jntrposes  of  the  Sabbath — these  can  neither  be  for- 
gotten nor  neglected  with  safety.  Jesus  effects  his 
cures  on  other  days — we  have  selected  the  instance 
of  the  cure  wrought  on  the  poor  man  on  the  Jew- 
ish sabbath,  simply  as  a  starting  point  for  these 
thoughts — and  by  many  other  instrumentalities,  be- 
sides the  day  of  his  resurrection,  and  the  living 
voice  of  his  servants.  He  has  many  ministers: — sick- 
ness, poverty,  disappointment,  and  bereavement;  the 
press,  the  platform,  and  the  word  spoken  in  season, 
are  all  employed  at  his  pleasure  to  do  his  benefi- 
cent work.  He  "  ordains"  them  all  when  and  where 
he  will.  He  gives  them  their  commission,  and  they 
do  his  bidding.  And  the  number  of  those  who 
have  been  spiritually  healed,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 


156  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

on  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in  secret  and  pri- 
vate, is  known  only  to  Him  who  knows  all  things. 
Still,  while  all  these  agencies  are  performing  their 
allotted  work,  the  first  day  of  the  week  stands  out  in 
imequalled  glory  as  the  time  when,  and  the  public 
preaching  of  the  gospel  as  the  instrument  by  which, 
the  Redeemer  diminishes  the  amount  of  spiritual 
disease,  thins  the  ranks  of  his  enemies,  increases  the 
number  of  his  friends,  diffuses  the  blessings  of  his 
mediatorial  reign,  and  prepares  his  followers  for  a 
happy  immortality. 

If  anything  be  needed  to  add  weight  to  these  con- 
siderations, it  will  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  respect 
to  the  Sabbath  is  the  best  safeguard  of  a  nation's 
morality.  It  has  ever  been  found  that  vice  prevails 
as  the  Sabbath  is  neglected.  What  was  the  state  of 
England  when  that  profane  swearer,  James  the  First, 
in  order  to  destroy  the  moral  example  of  the  Puritans, 
who  kept  holy  the  first  day  of  the  week,  commanded 
the  publication  of  a  book  containing  legal  sports  for 
the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  which  consisted  of  arch- 
ery, leaping,  dancing,  bull  and  bear  baiting?  What 
horrid  crimes  disgraced  the  reign  of  his  tyrannic  son, 
Charles  the  First?  The  protectorate  of  Cromwell,  a 
man  too  good  to  fill  the  polluted  throne  of  Charles, 
followed,  and  an  astonishing  change  for  the  better 
took  place.  The  first  day  of  the  week  was  held 
sacred  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  men. 
The  nation  advanced  in  moral  strength.  The  univer- 
sities were  the  temples  of  pure  religion,  and  the  re- 
treats of  solid  learning.  The  pulpit  was  adorned 
by  biblical  knowledge,  practical  utility,  and  popular 
eloquence.     Howe,  Owen,  Bates,  and  Baxter,  were 


JERUSALEM.  157 

amongst  Uic  number  of  Cromwell's  chaplains,  John 
Milton  was  his  Latin  secretary.  The  Restoration  fol- 
lowed— the  restoration  of  royalty  in  the  person  of 
Charles  the  Second,  of  vile  memory,  and  witii  it  the 
return  of  Sabbath  desecration.  Immorality  in  all  its 
flagitious  forms  marked  this  reign.  The  tide  of  li- 
centiousness weltered  from  the  court  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land.  All  ranks  and  conditions 
of  men  rolled  in  it.  And  what  was  the  condition  of 
France,  when  she  proposed  to  decimate  time  that  she 
might  get  rid  of  the  Christian  Sabbath?  All  know 
the  harrowing  tale.  It  is  chronitled  in  eternal  his- 
tory. The  burning  of  the  world  will  not  reduce  that 
chronicle  to  ashes.  It  is  written  among  the  things 
that  God  has  "seen"  on  earth.  Woe  be  to  the  nation 
which  despises  and  abuses  the  Christian  Sabbath? 

We  have  spoken  of  the  time  when,  and  the  instru- 
ments by  which,  the  Great  Physician  chiefly  eflects 
his  cures.  But  there  is  a  consideration  of  vital  im- 
portance which  must  not  be  overlooked.  Men  by 
nature  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  They  will 
not  be  persuaded  by  the  unaided  entreaty  of  even 
the  most  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  to  abandon  sin, 
and  to  follow  that  holiness  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.  And  Jesus  has  gone  to  the 
throne  of  his  glory.  He  is  not  personally  and 
visibly  on  earth,  to  give  efl'ect  to  the  ministry  of  re- 
conciliation. How  then  are  those  changes  effected 
which  have  been  mentioned  above  ?  Scripture,  the 
only  record  that  sheds  authoritative  light  either  on 
the  inner  workings  of  the  human  mind,  or  on  the 
mode  by  which  the  invisible  God  arrests  its  perverse 
tendencies,  furnishes  the  reply  to  this  most  interesting 

14 


158  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

question.  It  attributes  spiritual  change  in  man  to 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  It  de- 
scribes Christ's  ministers  as  servants,  ambassadors, 
labourers,  watchers,  sowers,  heralds;  but  "the  pow- 
er" that  makes  effectual  is  reserved  in  the  hand 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  To  them  it  is  given  to  prophesy 
to  "the  dry  bones;"  but  the  "breath  of  the  Lord" 
inspires  the  life,  imparts  the  vivifying  influence,  and 
creates  "  the  new  man."  It  is  theirs  to  "  cry  aloud ;" 
but  it  is  the  gracious  office  of  the  Spirit  of  the  living 
God  to  open  the  heart  to  attend  to  the  things  that  are 
spoken.  Within  the  whole  range  of  divine  mani- 
festations, we  see  no  arrangement  more  pregnant 
with  instruction,  more  full  of  principles  suggestive 
of  profound  and  profitable  thought  than  this.  It  is 
full  of  divine  wisdom.  It  is  pervaded  by  divine 
mercy.  It  declares  the  helplessness  and  deep  guilt 
of  man.  It  proclaims  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  testifies  to  the  fact  of  his  exaltation  as  a  Prince 
and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  and  remission  of 
sins.  It  shines  brilliantly  among  the  ever  accumu- 
lating evidence — which  the  student  finds  scattered 
like  heaven's  own  gems  on  the  pages  of  inspiration 
— that  "God  is  love."  It  is  the  finishing  character- 
istic of  the  majestic  plan  of  mercy,  that  plan  which, 
originating  in  the  Eternal  Mind,  is,  like  its  source,  so 
complete,  that  it  requires  no  additional  touch,  no  mo- 
dification, no  re-construction  ;  and  so  perfect,  that  all 
the  purposes  which  it  was  designed  to  effect  shall  be 
effected,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least,  so  that  the 
finished  result  of  the  whole  system  shall  be  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  original  type  in  the  divine  mind. 
Of  course,  we  are   indebted   to  revelation  itself  for 


JERUSALEM.  159 

the  thought;  but  the  idea  of  redemption  from  spi- 
ritual thraldom  seems  to  involve  the  idea  of  a  spiritual 
power  to  be  given;  a  power,  that  is,  in  character 
opposite  to,  and  in  energy  greater  than,  the  power 
by  which  men  were  enthralled.  Man  is  not  only  led 
captive  by  Satan,  a  spirit  far  more  powerful  than 
his  own,  but  the  tendencies  of  his  mind  assimilate 
to  the  purposes  of  Satan.  He  is  not  only  the  slave 
of  an  impure  Spirit,  from  whom,  had  he  the  will, 
he  could  not,  unaided,  liberate  himself,  but  his  own 
mind  is  thoroughly  in  love  with  this  slavery.  Hence 
if  he  is  to  become  Christ's  free  man,  and  the*  servant 
of  holiness,  his  opi7iions  must  be  altered,  and  his 
emancipation  effected,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
Pardon  respects  sin.  Justification  respects  law.  The 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  respects  the  spirit  of  the 
pardoned  and  justified  man:  his  regeneration,  libe- 
ration, cleansing,  aspirations  after  holiness,  training 
for  usefulness  here  and  glory  hereafter ;  his  spiritual 
life,  breath,  and  character.  The  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  begin  and  continue  sanctification,  which 
is  the  process  of  spiritual  healing  in  the  soul,  its 
gradual  restoration  to  the  image  of  God.  By  these 
influences  its  affections  are  drawn  from  the  world, 
and  fixed  more  and  more  on  Christ,  as  its  hope,  its 
centre,  its  heaven,  its  all.  Sin  appears  increasingly 
odious,  holiness  increasingly  beautiful,  Christ  in- 
creasingly precious.  The  conscience  becomes  more 
tender,  inward  evil  is  more  readily  detected,  its 
lurking  places  in  the  mind  are  more  easily  discovered, 
and  the  resolution  to  follow  the  Lord  fully,  gathers 
strength  even  from  the  opposition  with  which  it  meets 
from  hiward  evil.     As  the  process  of  sanctification 


160  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

goes  on,  the  strength  of  the  mind  increases,  so  that 
Avorldly  cares  are  more  easily  borne,  and  worldly  dis- 
appointments are  compelled  to  subserve  the  growth 
of  heavenly-mindedness.  Formerly,  these  disappoint- 
ments were  deemed  disastrous  to  the  man's  true  in- 
terests. They  were  looked  on  as  destroying  the  very 
end,  and  defeating  the  very  aim  of  life.  But  the 
Spirit  of  the  living  God  sheds  light,  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, on  the  true  character  of  these  disappointments; 
and  the  circumstance  which  would  have  crushed  the 
mind  on  which  no  ray  from  heaven  had  fallen,  is 
shown  to  belong  to  the  series  of  disciplinary  events 
by  which  the  God  of  love  attracts  his  children  to 
himself,  as  their  chief  good.  In  short,  all  that  is 
necessary  gloriously  to  consummate  the  divine  pur- 
poses regarding  those  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
Messiah,  is  effected  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  deny  his  agency  is  unphilosophical,  unscriptural, 
and  ruinous.  This  beautiful  world  were  a  blank 
without  the  light  of  the  sun.  Its  fertile  valleys  were 
a  barren  waste  without  the  irrigating  treasures  of  the 
clouds.  The  grandeur  of  the  system  of  mercy,  as 
revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  were  incomprehensible 
without  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit.  The  carnal 
mind  could  not  receive  it.  The  soul  of  man  were 
barren  of  all  fruits  of  holiness  without  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit;  but  when  these  are  shed  down, 
like  the  soft  and  fructifying  dew,  then  appear  love, 
joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance,  which  are,  in  consequence, 
denominated  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  But  it  is  es- 
sential to  bear  in  mind,  that  the  life-giving  Spirit 
works  on  the  human  spirit  through  the  medium  of 


JERUSALEM.  161 

his  mvn  truth.  The  Scriptures  of  truth  are  inspired 
by  him;  truth  recorded  there  is  his  truth;  by  this 
therefore  he  holds  intercourse  with  the  mind  of  man, 
enhffhtening  the  understanding,  and  purifying  the 
affections.  To  expect  the  influences  of  the  Spirit, 
without  reference  to  the  revelation  of  mercy,  of  which 
the  atonement  of  Christ  is  the  centre,  is  fanaticism; 
and  to  expect  the  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  or  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  terminate  in  union  to  the 
Redeemer,  and  spiritual  life,  and  heaven,  without 
the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  is  to  dishonour  him  who 
takes  of  the  things  of  Jesus  and  shows  them  to  the 
soul,  and  to  give  to  a  system  of  means  the  position 
and  power  of  an  etiicient  cause.  And  as  Jesus  heals 
the  soul,  by  the  power  of  his  omniscient  Spirit, 
through  the  appointed  instrumentality  of  his  word 
preached  and  read,  so  the  diseased  soul  should,  in 
imitation  of  the  poor  man  whose  interesting  recovery 
has  suggested  these  thoughts,  be  found  at  Bethesda, 
the  house  of  mercy,  the  place  where  the  cure  is  ex- 
pected to  be  performed.  It  will  be  a  time  of  great 
healing  among  the  spiritually  disabled  myriads  of  our 
land,  when  the  sanctuaries  of  God  are  crowded  by 
earnest  throngs,  listening  to  illustrations  of  the  power 
of  Jesus  as  the  soul's  Physician:  it  will  be  a  period 
of  glorious  Sabbath  cures ! 


14^ 


CHAPTER    XII. 


WAIN. 


LIFE    KESTORED. 


Our  attention  is  now  called  to  a  new  scene  in  the 
life  of  "Messiah  the  Prince."  One  of  the  most  illus- 
trious and  memorable  of  his  many  miracles,  and 
associated  with  some  of  the  most  heart-touching  in- 
cidents, is  brought  before  the  mind  in  the  following 
paragraph.  "  And  it  came  to  pass  that  he  went  into 
a  city  called  Nain ;  and  many  of  his  disciples  went 
with  him,  and  much  people.  Now  when  he  came 
nigh  to  the  gate  of  the  city,  behold,  there  was  a 
dead  man  carried  out,  the  only  son  of  his  mother, 
and  she  was  a  widow:  and  much  people  of  the  city 
was  with  her.  And  when  the  Lord  saw  her,  he  had 
compassion  on  her,  and  said  unto  her,  Weep  not. 
And  he  came  and  touched  the  bier,  and  they  that 
bare  him  stood  still.  And  he  said.  Young  man,  I 
say  unto  thee,  arise.  And  he  that  was  dead  sat  up, 
and  began  to  speak.  And  he  delivered  him  to  his 
mother.  And  there  came  a  fear  on  all:  and  they 
glorified  God,  saying,  that  a  great  prophet  is  risen 
up  am.ong  us;  and,  that  God  hath  visited  his  people." 
An  inspired  pencil  only  could  have  given  this  pic- 
ture. Here  are  grouped  a  variety  of  figures  and  cir- 
cumstances, yet  all  is  distinct,  all  is  impressive,  and 


NAIN.  163 

the  whole  is  transferred  to  the  memory  of  the  spec- 
tator, and  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  eye  takes  it 
in,  and  dwells  upon  it  with  wonder,  and  the  imagina- 
tion hovers  around  the  memorable  scene.  Perhaps 
it  was  evening,  the  general  time  of  sepulture  among 
the  Jews.  Jesus,  the  grandeur  of  whose  character 
was  concealed  under  the  appearance  of  ordinary 
humanity,  approaches  the  gate  of  Nain.  With  him 
are  his  disciples,  and  a  multitude  of  followers,  in- 
duced to  follow  by  the  fame  of  his  recent  miracles. 
A  solemn  procession  issues  from  the  gate.  It  is  a 
funeral  company.  They  are  bearing  the  body  of  a 
dead  man  towards  the  place  of  interment.  He  was 
the  only  son  of  his  widowed  mother;  her  last  earthly 
comforter  and  stay.  Death  has  inflicted  a  terrible 
wound  on  her  heart.  Sympathy  was  excited  by  her 
sad  loss  in  the  breasts  of  the  citizens  of  Nain,  and 
many  of  them  go  with  her  to  see  the  grave  destined 
for  her  son,  and  to  lay  his  body  there.  The  ap- 
proaching companies  see  each  other;  but  perhaps  the 
eyes  of  the  widow  are  turned  to  the  earth,  which  is 
moistened  as  she  proceeds,  by  her  fast  falling  tears. 
Deliverance  is  at  hand;  but  she  knows  it  not.  The 
Lord  of  life  and  glory  approaches;  but  as  yet  she 
sees  him  not.  The  Master  of  Death  is  just  about  to 
speak  to  her;  but  she  thinks  only  of  her  bereave- 
ment. He  draws  near  to  her,  and  moved  with 
compassion,  says,  in  his  own  tender  accents,  "  Weep 
not."  Probably  she  answers  not;  but  her  thoughts 
may  be  imagined  thus: — Doubtless  this  is  a  com- 
passionate stranger,  who  sees  my  grief,  and  sym- 
pathizes with  me;  but  if  he  knew  the  extent  of  my 
sorrow,  and  the  greatness  of  my  loss,  he  would  not 


164  THE    FOOTSTEPS   OF    MESSIAH. 

forbid  these  tears  which  yield  me  a  melancholy  relief. 
Jesus  is  about,  however,  to  give  an  astonishing  illus- 
tration of  his  meaning ;  and  approaching  the  bier, 
he  touched  it.  They  that  bare  it,  stood,  wondering 
what  the  stranger  meant.  All  are  silent:  every  eye 
is  fixed  on  the  Saviour,  by  whose  voice  the  momen- 
tary suspense  is  broken: — "Young  man,  I  say  unto 
thee,  arise!"  The  cold  ear  of  the  corpse  feels  the 
thrill  of  that  living  voice;  the  dead  obeys;  he  that 
was  dead  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak!  And  Jesus, 
without  ostentation  or  parade  of  any  kind,  probably 
taking  the  young  man  by  the  hand,  delivered  him 
to  his  amazed  mother,  in  the  presence  of  the  amazed 
and  awe-struck  multitude. 

What  a  rush  of  new  and  strange  feelings  was  felt 
in  the  breasts  of  this  multitude!  "There  fell  a  dread 
on  all."  The  widow's  heart  sings  for  joy.  The  eyes 
of  all  turn  from  the  restored  man  to  his  mysterious 
Restorer.  Who  is  he?  Whence  this  astonishing 
power?  The  dead  listens  to  his  command!  Death 
obeys  his  authority!  "A  great  prophet  is  risen  up 
among  us :  God  hath  visited  his  people."  The  most 
thoughtless  in  the  company  began  to  thmk ;  the  most 
giddy  are  solemnly  impressed;  and  from  the  memory 
of  not  one  present  will  that  scene  ever  be  erased. 
Grief  and  joy,  sorrow  and  gladness,  death  and  life, 
met  without  the  gate  of  Nain.  The  widow's  anguish 
was  turned  into  inexpressible  gratitude,  her  tears  of 
woe  were  turned  into  tears  of  joy:  the  cloud  was 
thick;  the  hght  of  Messiah's  countenance  dispersed 
it;  the  hour  was  dark;  the  trappings  of  death  were 
there ;  unavailing  sighs,  and  bitter  tears,  and  pow- 
erless sympathy  were  there ;   but  the  Sun  of  right- 


NAIN.  1G5 

eoiisness  arose  between  the  desolate  home  and  the 
empty  grave;  and  the  dreary  prospect  that  ere  while 
stretched  around  the  weeping  widow,  is  bathed  in 
his  glowing  beams,  and  lit  up  with  a  thousand  tints 
of  beauty  and  of  grace.  With  slow  and  reluctant 
step  she  was  proceeding  to  the  grave,  to  bury  the 
body  of  her  only  child,  and  with  it  all  her  earthly 
affections;  but  whilst  approaching  the  spot  hence- 
forth to  be  consecrated  by  the  ashes  of  him  she 
loved,  she  found — who  can  doubt  it? — a  son  and  a 
Saviour! 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  proper  to  say  that  the  fact 
under  notice  illustrates  the  Divine  procedure  regard- 
hig  his  people,  for  a  miracle  is  in  its  nature  different 
from  the  general  operation  of  Providence;  but  the 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  performed  are  evi- 
dently analogous  to  those  remembered  in  the  expe- 
rience of  multitudes;  we  mean  the  deliverance  which 
has  been  wrought  for  them,  most  unexpectedly,  when 
all  assistance  from  earthly  sources  seemed  cut  off; 
when  all  hope  was  fled,  and  when  there  was  nothing 
before  them  but  to  drink  the  last  drop  of  some  cup 
of  calamity.  Who  is  there  that  cannot  remember 
sometiiing  of  this  kind?  Some  sad  trial  or  difficulty 
came  upon  them,  to  escape  from  which  every  effort 
was  put  forth,  every  exertion  made,  every  source 
from  which  help  was  likely  lo  come,  tried,  and  all, 
apparently,  in  vain.  The  spirit  was  harassed,  the 
heart  was  rung,  sleep  fled  from'  the  eyes;  perhaps 
their  Christian  character,  of  all  things  most  dear  unto 
them,  was  trembling  in  the  balance,  from  inability 
to  justify  before  men  their  professed  integrity;  when 
they  lay  down  they  said,  with  Job,  "When  shall  we 


166  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

arise,  and  the  night  be  gone?*'  and  they  were  "full 
of  tossings  to  and  fro  unto  the  dawning  of  the  day;" 
night  brought  them  no  repose — 

"  Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep," 

visited  not  their  couch,  except  to  scare  them  with 
dreams,  and  terrify  them  through  visions;  and  when 
the  hght  of  day  poured  through  their  dwellings,  it 
seemed  mingled  with  a  dark  hue,  the  precursor  of 
some  fierce  storm;  when  the  streets  were  trod,  the 
head  was  bent  in  sympathy  with  the  burdened  heart, 
and  the  noise  of  the  multitude  passing  and  re-passing, 
the  greetings  and  adieus,  the  conversation  and  laugh- 
ter of  the  gathering  and  dispersing  groups,  were 
utterly  unintelligible  to  the  ear,  except  as  being 
something  like  the  muttering  of  distant  thunder;  and 
even  prayer  itself,  with  all  its  soul-relieving  associa- 
tions, was  performed  in  broken  accents  and  with 
wandering  thoughts:  then — when  the  heaven  became 
as  iron,  and  the  earth  as  brass,  when  hope  had  fled, 
and  with  the  silence  of  despair  they  awaited  the  ca- 
tastrophe, coming  with  ruin  and  disgrace  in  its  train 
— then,  and  not  till  then,  has  a  messenger  of  mercy 
been  sent  by  an  ever-watchful  Providence,  an  angel 
of  deliverance  from  an  ever  merciful  God.  Then 
the  soul  is  filled  with  unspeakable  emotions,  as  if  just 
aroused  from  a  terrible  dream,  and  from  its  innermost 
recesses  there  arises  a  cloud  of  incense  to  the  God 
of  Salvation ;  then '  it  is  armed  with  fresh  resolution 
to  meet  the  trials  of  the  way;  then  it  chides  itself 
for  distrusting  the  goodness  of  the  Lord ;  and  then 
it  fully  enters  into  the  sentiment  of  the  spirit-smitten 
Cowper — 


NAIN.  1G7 

"  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take, 

The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head." 

This,  some  reader  may  say,  is  but  a  faint  picture  of 
the  reahty.  Most  true.  The  heart  knoweth  its  own 
bitterness,  and  there  are  soul-pangs  which  "  pen  and 
ink"  cannot  present  to  the  eye.  He,  however,  who 
raised  the  widow's  son,  is  Ruler  in  the  kingdom 
of  Providence,  and  though  he  permit  evil,  for  wise 
and  kind  reasons,  sometimes  apparently  to  triumph 
without  check,  yet  he  will  appear  for  the  deliverance 
of  his  people  when  the  affliction  has  gathered  all  its 
strength,  and  is  about  to  strike  the  final  blow.  "  Ho 
will  not  suffer  them  to  be  tempted  above  that  they 
are  able;  but  will,  with  the  temptation  also  make  a 
way  to  escape,  that  they  may  be  able  to  bear  it." 

But  deeper  still  into  the  cup  of  human  woe  let 
us  look.  Here  is  death!  A  young  man  whose  friends 
expected  for  him,  and  who  probably  promised  to 
himself,  many  years  of  earthly  comfort  and  useful- 
ness, is  arrested,  sickens,  dies !  It  is  a  common  tale. 
Who  has  not  been  bereaved?  Who  has  not  laid 
some  loved  one  in  the  grave?  Whose  breast  has  not 
swelled  with  anguish  at  the  inroads  of  the  last  enemy, 
as  the  rapidly  sinking  pulse,  and  labouring  breath, 
and  parched  lips,  and  staring  eye,  glistening  with 
unearthly  intensity,  gave  distressing  proof  of  speedy 
dissolution?  "The  dust  we  tread  once  breathed." 
The  wide  world  is  a  vast  cemetery.  The  seeds  of  the 
resurrection  are  scattered  over  the  whole  earth,  and 
carried  by  the  rivers  of  every  land  to  the  bottom  of 
the  great  deep.     Every  generation  pushes  its  prede- 


168  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

cesser  over  the  precipice  of  time,  and  cries,  "Make 
room!"  All  know  this.  Few  feel  it.  All  believe 
it.  Few  realize  it.  It  is  a  common  truth: — "all  must 
die;"  but  how  few  apply  the  lesson?  But  our  ob- 
ject is  not  to  dwell  on  death,  or  on  the  tears,  and 
woes,  and  broken  hearts,  and  deranged  intellects 
that  mark  his  progress,  and  follow  in  his  train;  our 
eye  is  on  Death's  Master.  Let  us  gaze  on  the  Prince 
of  Life!  It  is  common,  in  poetic  language,  to  speak 
of  death  as  an  independent  power,  scattering  de- 
struction through  the  family  of  man,  a  free  agent, 
sporting  with  human  hopes,  and  revelling  amidst  the 
disasters  of  creation.  Thus  Young  speaks  of  "  Strong 
Death,"  and  of 

"  Death's  toll,  whose  restless  iron  tongue 
Calls  daily  for  his  millions  at  a  meal." 

And  in  the  following  sublime  passage  this  idea  of 
independency  is  forcibly  expressed: 

"Death!  great  proprietor  of  all!  'tis  thine 
To  tread  out  empire,  and  to  quench  the  stars; 
The  sun  himself  by  thy  permission  shines. 
And,  one  day,  thou  shalt  pluck  him  from  his  sphere." 

This  manner  of  representing  death,  though  poetically 
allowable,  because  perfectly  understood  by  every  in- 
telligent reader,  is  far  from  conveying  the  real  cha- 
racter of  the  last  enemy,  and  his  position — if  disso- 
lution must  be  personified — in  this  part  of  God's  uni- 
verse. Death  cannot  ultimately  defeat  any  one  of 
the  Divine  purposes.  It  is  impossible  that  evil  in 
any  form,  whether  existent  in  the  heart  of  man  or 
devil,  or  exhibited  in  the  ravages  of  mortality,  can 
assimie  an  independent  power  under  the  government 


NAIN.  169 

of  the  only  wise  God.  Apart  altogether  from  those 
self-degrading  elements  which  are  inherent  in  all 
evil,  and  which,  if  they  do  not  predict  its  final  ex- 
tinction, at  least  sentence  it  to  its  "own  place,"  there 
are  considerations  springing  out  of  the  very  idea  of 
divine  government,  which  bring  this  proposition  home 
to  our  understanding  as  an  incontrovertible  truth. 
God,  the  infinitely  wise  and  the  infinitely  benefi- 
cent, is  the  Guardian  of  the  universe.  Neither  good 
nor  evil  can  manifest  itself  at  any  given  time,  in 
any  given  spot  of  his  vast  empire,  without  his 
knowledge.  The  former  cannot  illumine  the  spirit, 
the  latter  cannot  darken  the  path  of  any  of  his  crea- 
tures, in  any  point  of  creation,  without  coming  under 
the  full  blaze  of  his  omniscience.  Of  all  the  good, 
done  at  any  time,  in  any  world,  he  is  undoubtedly 
the  First  Cause.  How  sin  first  entered  the  minds  of 
beings  created  holy,  we  ask  not.  A  solution  to  this 
great  question  may  be  found  at  some  future  stage  of 
our  being;  but  time  has  no  revelation  regarding  it. 
One  thing  is  certain,  that  it  entered  against  his  ex- 
press authority:  law  prohibited  it;  but  it  is  equally 
clear,  that  it  could  not  have  entered  despite  his 
power;  Omnipotence  coi//i/ Aai^e  prevented  it.  Why 
it  did  not,  we  think  we  can  to  some  extent  see. 
Moral  laws  are  intended  for  intelligent  beings,  created 
minds:  all  created  minds  are,  at  some  stage  of  their 
existence  subjected  to  a  process  of  probation,  which 
supposes  moral  law;  evil  entered  the  minds  both  of 
fallen  angels  and  of  men  during  their  probationary 
state;  but  to  have  prevented  this  calamity  by  the 
exercise  of  power  on  the  part  of  God,  would  have  at 
once  suspended  law  3.nd  probation. 

15 


170  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

The  trial  of  the  creature  necessarily  ends  when 
Omnipotence  prevents  the  possibility  of  his  fall;  and 
of  course  the  motives  and  sanctions  of  law  are  in- 
operative, because  superfluous,  when  infinite  power 
shields  the  intelligence  from  the  possibility  of  moral 
injury.  Nor  can  there  be  in  such  a  case  reward  for 
obedience,  seeing  that  transgression  was  rendered 
impossible :  obedience  was  a  necessity,  and  therefore 
without  merit.  These  thoughts,  which  merely  point 
to  a  process  of  reasoning  which  might  be  followed 
long  and  profitably,  serve  to  indicate  that  moral  evil 
may  enter  the  dominions  of  an  infinitely  holy  and 
beneficent  God,  in  perfect  consistency  with  his  cha- 
racter; that  the  relation  in  which  his  intelligent 
creatures  stand  to  him,  in  their  probationary  state, 
forbids  the  exercise  of  omnipotence  to  prevent  their 
transgression;  and  that  death,  which  is  one  of  the 
visible  results  of  sin,  has  not,  and  cannot  have,  the 
power  of  ultimately  defeating  the  Divine  purposes. 
Nay,  we  go  farther.  Is  not  this  Death,  at  present, 
in  no  higher  position  than  the  slave  of  Jesus  Christ? 
And  will  not  the  Lord  of  life  compel  this  sin-made 
scourge  of  man,  ultimately  to  subserve  some  grand 
and  unrevealed  purpose  of  infinite  wisdom  and  mer- 
cy? What  if  the  Restorer  of  life  intend  to  reveal 
at  some  future  stage  of  our  being  an  eternal  purpose, 
by  which  the  ravages  of  death  shall  be  pressed  into 
the  service  of  illustrating  his  glory  and  increasing 
the  happiness  of  his  elect,  when  sin,  the  cause  of 
death,  shall  have  been  sealed  up  in  its  own  eternal 
den?  One  thing  is  certain — He  brings  good  out  of 
evil;  and  if  in  the  ordinary  operations  of  his  provi- 
dence   his   grace    is    thereby  illustrated,   how  much 


NAIN.  171 

more  will  it  be  so  if  the  ravages  of  the  last  enemy 
shall  be  summoned  to  the  same  service?  The  mag- 
nitude of  the  evil  will  correspondingly  magnify  the 
grace.  The  light  will  shine  the  brighter  from  the 
blackness  of  the  contrast.  The  Restorer  of  life  will 
stand  on  high,  with  death  under  his  feet. 

Of  the  power  over  death  possessed  by  him  who, 
"in  the  days  of  his  flesh,"  restored  to  life  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jairus,  the  young  man  of  Nain,  and  Lazarus 
of  Bethany,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  both  prophetic  and 
apostolic,  speak  expressly.  There  is  nothing  dubi- 
ous about  the  language  of  either  Isaiah  or  Paul  on 
this  subject.  They  mean  to  inform  the  world  that 
Messiah  has  the  power,  of  which  he  gave  glorious 
specimens  when  he  was  on  earth,  of  raising  the 
dead,  communicating  life,  and  destroying  death  itself. 
This  last  he  will  do,  when  the  proper  hour  arrives. 
Let  us  look  at  a  few  passages  from  the  pens  of 
prophets  and  apostles,  on  this  hope-exciting  subject. 
Isaiah  sings  thus: 

"He  shall  utterly  destroy  death  for  ever; 
And  the  Lord  Jehovah  shall  wipe  away  the  tear  from  off  all  faces ; 
And  the  reproach  of  his  people  shall  he  remove  from  the  whole  earth  : 
For  Jehovah  hath  spoken  it."  Lovvth. 

Hosea  says — 

"I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave; 
I  will  redeem  them  from  death : 
O  death !  I  will  be  thy  plague; 
O  grave!  I  will  be  thy  destruction; 
Repentance  shall  be  hid  from  mine  eyes." 

Paul,  having  both  prophecies  in  his  mind,  says,  tiiat 
"  this  saying   shall  be  brought  to  pass"  when  "  the 


172  TUE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible."  He  had  previously  stated  that  Christ 
"must  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his 
feet,"  and  that  "the  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed 
is  death:"  and  then  he  breaks  out  with  these  trium- 
phant questions,  "0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O 
grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  The  sting  of  death  is 
sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But  thanks  be 
to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  The  Apostle's  exultation  in  the  anti- 
cipation of  this  triumph  is  expressed  in  such  poetic 
language,  that  Pope  has  adopted  it  in  his  "  Dying 
Christian,"  with  only  a  transposition  of  the  order. 

"O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory? 
O  death,  where  is  thy  sting?" 

Writing  to  Timothy,  the  same  Apostle  says,  that 
"Our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ  has  abolished  death;" 
and  he  tells  the  Hebrews,  that  "Jesus  took  part  of 
flesh  and  blood,  that  through  death  he  might  destroy 
him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil, 
and  deliver  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were 
all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  And  now 
that  the  glorious  Conqueror  is  on  his  high  throne, 
we  hear  him  saying,  "  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was 
dead;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen: 
and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death."  Well  might 
he  say  to  the  sorrowing  sister  of  Lazarus,  "I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life." 

The  abolition  of  death  formed  part  of  the  me- 
diatorial plan.  Christ  came  to  put  away  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself  In  anticipation  of  the  offering 
of  this  sacrifice,  and  on  the  ground  of  its  acceptance. 


NAIN.  173 

he  forgave  sin,  pardoned  transgressors,  to  the  as- 
tonishiiient  ol"  tliose  who  heard  him,  and  who,  sup- 
posing him  to  be  merely  man,  charged  him  with  blas- 
phemy, a  charge  obviously  correct  on  thdr  theory ; 
for  if  Jesus  of  Nazareth  were  merely  man,  he  had  no 
power  to  forgive  sin:  this  is  the  prerogative  of  God, 
the  Lawgiver ;  it  follows  then,  that  if  Jesus  forgave 
sin,  the  union  of  Deity  with  humanity  in  the  person 
of  Messiah,  for  which  the  inspired  writers  furnish 
the  most  overwhelming  evidence,  is  a  reality.  But 
the  power  to  forgive  sin,  involves  the  power  to  abol- 
ish death.  Sin  is  the  active  principle  of  evil  in  the 
heart  and  life  of  man;  death — we  use  the  word  in 
this  connexion,  simply  to  signify  the  dissolution  of 
the  body — is  the  last  visible  result  of  sin.  Now,  he 
who  came  to  put  away  the  cause  of  death,  and  who 
gloriously  succeeded  in  the  object- of  his  incarnation, 
must  have  power  to  terminate  the  effect.  Remove 
the  former,  and  the  latter  ceases.  But  it  has  been 
said,  all  men  die,  good  and  bad;  where  is  the  proof 
that  Christ  has  abolished  death?  This  question  pro- 
ceeds from  a  fundamental  error.  The  prevention  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  body  formed  no  part  of  the  me- 
diatorial system.  That  system  is  strictly  a  system  of 
Redemption.  It  sets  aside  no  law,  neither  moral  nor 
physical.  The  dissolution  of  the  human  body — though 
we  certainly  believe  it  to  be  the  result  of  sin — must 
be  acknowledged  to  be  a  physical  law.  Redemption, 
we  have  said,  sets  aside  no  law.  Christ  magnified 
and  made  honourable  God's  spiritual  and  moral  laws, 
and  redeemed  all  who  believe  in  him ^rom  their  curse; 
he  offered  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  redeemed  all  who 
believe  in  him  frojii  its  power;   and  he  died  and 

15* 


174  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

rose  again,  and  redeemed  all  who  believe  in  him 
from  death  :  they  will  be  ransomed  from  the  grave. 
This  appears  to  be  the  glorious  order,  which  is  ob- 
viously in  harmony  with  the  idea  of  redemption. 
The  death  of  the  soul,  spiritual  death,  is  the  penalty 
of  sin;  the  day  in  which  Adam  sinned  he  died  thus, 
and  the  apostle  teaches  us  that  all  sinners  are  thus 
"dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  Now  mark,  the  me- 
diatorial plan  does  not  prevent  this  :  it  never  contem- 
plated the  prevention  of  this.  The  man  rebels  against 
God,  and  that  moment  he  becomes  dead  to  holiness, 
dead  to  God  and  the  spiritual  world,  and  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  as  incapable  of  rising  by  his  own 
strength  to  holiness  of  heart  and  reconciliation  with 
God,  as  a  corpse  is  of  rising  from  its  grave;  and  if  not 
redeemed  he  must  perish  for  ever.  What  then  did 
the  plan  of  grace  contemplate?  We  reply,  the  re- 
demption of  this  man  from,  the  spiritual  death  which 
his  sin  had  produced;  hence  Jesus  makes  him  "a 
new  creature:"  it  is  a  spiritual  resurrection:  he  is 
raised  up  to  newness  of  life.  So  with  the  death  of 
the  body;  it  takes  place;  saints  fall  asleep,  but  it  is 
in  Christ,  and  he  will  in  due  time  ransom  them  from 
the  grave;  death  will  have  no  more  dominion  over 
them;  for  they  are  the  children  of  the  resurrection, 
and  they  cannot  die  any  more.  Thus  Jesus  has  abo- 
lished death,  the  abolition  of  which  formed  part  of 
the  mediatorial  plan.  God's  moral  and  physical  laws 
continue  unchangeable ;  Christ  redeems  those  given 
to  him  from  the  curse  of  the  one  and  the  mortality 
of  the  other;  he  is  the  great  Restorer  of  lost  life, 
spiritual  and  bodily;  and  the  same  power  that  makes 
a  child  of  wrath  an  heir  of  glory,  will  rend  the  graves 


NAIN.  175 

of  earth  and  summon  together  liis  saints,  that  on  the 
holy  mind,  united  to  its  incorruptible  body,  he  may 
bestow  the  glories  of  life  eternal.  And  then,  0,  how 
Avill  our  happiness  be  enhanced  by  the  restored  life 
of  the  loved  ones  whom  on  earth  we  have  carried  to 
their  graves!  Jesus  will  speak  to  them:  they  will 
arise,  and  he  will  "deliver  them  to"  us,  endowed 
with  perpetual  health  and  life ! 

"'Behold,  my  covenant  stands  for  ever  good, 
Sealed  by  the  eternal  sacrifice  in  blood. 
And  signed  with  all  their  names;  the  Greek,  the  Jew^ 
That  paid  the  ancient  worship  or  the  new:' 
There's  no  distinction  liere ;  join  all  your  voices. 
And  raise  your  heads,  ye  saints,  for  heaven  rejoices. 

'"Here,  (saith  the  Lord)  ye  angels  spread  their  thrones. 

And  near  me  seat  my  favorites  and  my  sons: 

Come,  my  redeemed,  possess  the  joys  prepared 

Ere  time  began  I  'tis  your  divine  reward.' 

When  Christ  returns,  wake  every  cheerful  passion 

And  shout,  ye  saints,  he  comes  for  your  salvation." 


CHAPTER   XIIL 

THE     SEA     OF     TIBERIAS. 

THE   STORM    HUSHED. 

After  the  miracle  at  Nain  had  been  performed,  we 
find  our  Lord  giving  the  memorable  answer  to  the 
disciples  of  John,  who  were  sent  to  inquire  whether 
he  were  the  Messiah; — discoursing  about  the  cha- 
racter of  the  Baptist;  lamenting  over  the  impenitent 
cities  that  had  been  favoured  as  the  scenes  of  his 
mighty  works;  making  a  progress  through  many- 
places,  attended  by  the  twelve  and  others;  answer- 
ing the  blasphemous  Pharisee,  who  affirmed  that  his 
miracles  resulted  from  collusion  with  Satan;  caution- 
ing his  hearers  against  the  commission  of  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Ghost;  going  to  the  sea  side,  and 
there  delivering  the  parables  of  the  sower,  the  tares, 
the  springing  seed,  the  mustard  seed,  the  leaven,  the 
hid  treasure,  the  pearl,  and  the  net;  and  now  we 
find  him  crossing  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  and  by  a 
word  stilling  a  fearful  tempest.  The  facts  of  this 
sublime  miracle  are  recorded  by  three  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, a  circumstance  which  justifies  the  impression 
that  it  must  have  had  an  extraordinary  influence  on 
their  minds.  Matthew's  narrative  follows: — "And 
when  he  was  entered  into  a  ship,  his  disciples 
followed    him.      And,  behold,   there   arose   a   great 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBERIAS.  177 

tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  ship  was  co- 
vered with  the  waves:  but  he  was  asleep.  And  his 
disciples  came  to  him,  and  awoke  him,  saying,  Lord, 
save  us:  we  perish.  And  he  saith  unto  them,  why  are 
ye  fearful,  0  ye  of  little  faith?  Then  he  arose,  and 
rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea;  and  there  was  a  great 
calm." 

We  envy  not  the  mind  that  can  look  on  this  with- 
out emotion.  It  is  fitted  to  stir  to  its  centre  any  soul 
that  can  realize  majesty, sublimity,  grandeur.  "What 
manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the 
sea  obey  him!"  Is  not  this  he  "who  by  his  strength 
setteth  fast  the  mountains;  being  girded  with  power: 
who  stilleth  the  noise  of  the  seas,  the  noise  of  their 
waves  and  the  tumult  of  the  people?"  Is  not  this 
he  whom  David  addressed  thus,  "Thou  rulest  the 
raging  of  the  sea:  when  the  waves  thereof  arise  thou 
stillest  them?"  Is  not  this  he  who  interrogated  Job 
out  of  the  stormy  cloud?  "Where  wast  thou  when 
I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?  declare,  if  thou 
hast  understanding.  Who  hath  laid  the  measures 
thereof,  if  thou  knowest?  or  who  hath  stretched  the 
line  upon  it?  Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof 
fastened?  or  who  laid  the  corner  stone  thereof;  when 
the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy?  Or  who  shut  up  the  sea 
with  doors,  when  it  brake  forth,  as  if  it  had  issued 
out  of  the  womb?  When  I  made  the  cloud  the 
garment  thereof,  and  thick  darkness  a  swaddling 
band  for  it,  and  brake  up  for  it  my  decreed  place, 
and  set  bars  and  doors,  and  said,  hitherto  shall  thou 
come,  but  no  further:  and  here  shall  thy  proud 
waves  be  stayed?"     This  is  he  of  whom  John  says, 


178  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

"All  things  were  made  by  him;  and  without  him 
was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made;"  and  of 
whom  Paul  says,  "  By  him  were  all  things  created, 
that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and 
invisible,  whether  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  princi- 
palities, or  powers:  all  things  were  created  by  him, 
and  for  him:  and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  by 
him  all  things  consist."  Here  is  the  Messiah  giving 
proof  of  his  irresistible  authority  over  the  elements 
of  nature,  the  material  part  4>f  his  dominions,  as  he 
had  done  before  over  disease  and  death.  At  his 
word  vigour  returned  to  the  invalid,  and  life  to  the 
dead;  and  now  at  the  same  word  the  storm  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  calm.  "He  speaks,  and  it  is  done!" 
In  every  region,  whether  that  of  disease,  of  death, 
or  of  storm,  the  effect  is  the  same:  he  is  immedi- 
ately obeyed.  Disease  and  health;  death  and  hfe; 
storm  and  calm  are  all  at  his  bidding;  they  are  all 
liis  servants.  "He  is  Lord  of  all,"  and  entitled  to 
the  adoration  of  all  his  creatures.  "  Praise  ye  him, 
all  his  angels:  praise  ye  him,  all  his  hosts.  Praise 
ye  him,  sun  and  moon:  praise  him,  all  ye  stars  of 
light.  Praise  him,  ye  heaven  of  heavens,  and  ye 
waters  that  be  above  the  heavens.  Let  them  praise 
the  name  of  the  Lord:  for  he  commanded  and  they 
were  created.  Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye 
dragons  and  all  deeps:  fire,  and  hail;  snow  and  va- 
pours; stormy  Avind  fulfilling  his  word."  All  these 
are  under  constant  subjection  to  the  Lord  of  Chris- 
tians; and  the  inspired  poetry  that  calls  on  them  all 
to  praise  him,  whether  they  be  intelligent  or  non- 
intelligent,  animate  or  inanimate,  proceeds  on  this 
grand  principle. 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBERIAS.  179 

The  miracle  itself  is  suggestive  of  important  con- 
siderations in  relation  to  the  Christian  economy.  Be- 
lieving, as  we  do,  that  time,  with  all  its  momentous 
interests,  and  the  world,  with  its  wonderful  history, 
shall  be  made  subsidiary  to  the  elucidation  of  this 
economy;  that  the  great  scheme  of  providence  is 
subservient  to  the  greater  scheme  of  grace ;  and  that 
the  illustrations  of  God's  character  furnished  by  the 
phenomena  of  the  material  world  are  best  understood 
in  the  light  of  the  mediatorial  plan;  it  appears  fit 
and  proper  that  the  Mediator,  as  such,  should  have 
given  specimens  of  his  power  in  the  providential 
kingdom,  and  over  the  material  world,  when  he 
lived  on  this  earth.  It  was  relative  to  his  mission. 
It  was  in  accordance  with  the  design  of  his  Mes- 
siahship.  It  was  right  that,  alluding  to  his  mira- 
cles, he  should  be  able  to  say,  "What  things  soever 
the  Father  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  like- 
wise;— the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me 
to  finish,  the  same  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness 
of  me,  that  the  Father  hath  sent  me;"  that  he 
should  command  the  messengers  of  the  Baptist  to 
inform  their  master  of  the  miracles  which  they  had 
seen  performed,  as  an  answer  to  his  question,  "Art 
thou  he  that  should  come,  or  look  we  for  another?" 
and  that  "many  of  the  people,"  convinced  that  he 
was  the  Messiah,  should  be  able  to  justify  their 
faith  in  him,  as  such,  by  saying,  "  When  Christ 
cometh,  will  he  do  more  miracles  than  these  which 
this  man  hath  done?"  The  works  which  the 
Messiah  was  to  do,  the  doctrines  he  was  to  teach, 
and  the  sufferings  he  was  to  undergo,  were  done, 
taught,  and  undergone  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth;  there- 


ISO  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

fore  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Messiah.  His  mi- 
racles were  performed,  his  doctrines  were  delivered, 
and  his  death  suffered,  in  his  Messianic  character. 
His  oral  communications  to  the  people  were  there- 
fore the  mind  of  God;  his  miracles,  illustrations  of  the 
beneficence  of  God,  and  his  sacrificial  death,  at  once 
the  proclamation  and  consummation  of  the  atonement. 
The  evidence  of  his  Messiahship  furnished  by  mira- 
cles, was  not  simply  deduced  or  inferred  from  them 
by  his  followers,  though  in  the  absence  of  any  infor- 
mation from  himself  as  to  their  grand  design,  cor- 
rect reasoners  would  have  said,  "When  the  Messiah 
Cometh  will  he  do  more  miracles  than  these?"  but 
Jesus  himself  repeatedly  pointed  to  them  as  confir- 
matory of  his  claim  to  Messiahship.  This  doubtless 
was  their  primary  design,  their  first  object;  but  we 
are  mistaken  if  they  do  not,  as  already  hinted,  adum- 
brate truths  of  a  still  higher  class  and  wider  range  in 
the  Christian  economy. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  stilling  of  the  tempest.  A 
sudden  storm  had  come  down  on  the  lake,  and  laslied 
its  waters  into  fury.  The  little  vessel,  tossed  by  the 
violence  of  the  waves  and  the  strength  of  the  wind, 
was,  like  other  vessels  in  similar  circumstances,  in 
jeopardy:  it  became  unmanageable:  the  means  used 
by  the  disciples  were  inadequate  to  cope  with  the 
raging  elements:  they  saw  no  prospect  but  death, 
except  the  Divine  mercy  should  interpose  to  prevent 
it^  accordingly,  they  appealed  to  Jesus,  of  whose 
wonder  working  power  and  Divine  compassion  they 
had  had  many  previous  illustrations:  ardent  was 
their  cry,  urgent  their  prayer:  "Lord,  save  us;  we 
perish!"      He    arose,  spake   to  the   wind  and    the 


THE    SEA    OP    TIBERIAS.  ISl 

waters,  and  both  obeyed  immediately;  the  air  be- 
came calm,  and  the  surface  of  tlie  lake  smooth. 
Here  were  benevolence  and  power,  constant  charac- 
teristics of  Jesus,  acting  in  harmony  to  allay  the 
mental  disquietude  of  the  disciples,  and  the  mate- 
rial disturbance  which  caused  that  disquietude.  The 
miracle  was  complete.  The  parties  were  saved.  The 
wind  ceased.  The  waters  slept.  The  speaker  was 
felt  to  be  more  than  man.  The  reinless  winds  were 
chained.  The  storm-tossed  lake  was  composed. 
The  miracle  appealed  to  the  senses,  and  through  the 
senses  to  the  understanding  of  the  astonished  wit- 
nesses of  this  sublime  transaction.  Had  latent  doubt 
remained  in  the  breast  of  any  of  the  voyagers  regard- 
ing the  true  character  of  Jesus,  its  last  foothold  would 
have  given  way  now.  Its  power  to  disturb  the 
mind  would  cease,  for  it  would  instantly  vanish  to 
give  place  to  unbounded  faith.  But  beyond  those  in- 
delible impressions  which  may  have  been  made  on 
the  minds  of  the  disciples  at  the  period  under  notice, 
we  think  the  light  of  succeeding  revelations  invites  us 
to  gaze.  It  points  to  man's  Redeemer,  the  Adminis- 
trator of  all  affairs  in  the  spiritual  world,  as  the  up- 
holder of  all  things,  by  whom  all  things  consist,  in 
the  material  universe.  The  vast  empire  of  visible 
creation  is  declared  to  dependent  on  "the  vvoud 
OP  HIS  POWER."  The  integrity  of  its  laws,  and  the 
recurrence  of  its  seasons,  are  secured  by  him;  the 
periods  of  its  cycles,  and  the  orbits  of  its  planets,  are 
ordained  and  regulated  by  him;  the  fertility  of  the 
earth,  the  fragrance  of  the  flower,  the  treasures  of 
the  cloud,  and  the  warmth  of  the  sun-beam,  are  ap- 
pointed and  maintained  by  him. 

16 


183  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

"Tlie  northern  pole,  and  southern,  rest 
On  his  supporting  hand; 
Darkness  and  day  from  east  to  west 
Move  round  at  his  command. 

"His  words  the  raging  winds  control. 
And  rule  the  boisterous  deep ; 
He  makes  the  sleeping  billows  roll. 
The  rolling  billows  sleep." 

"  There  could  not  be  a  more  distinct  ascription  of 
Divinity  to  the  Son  of  God  than  this,"  says  a  pleas- 
ing writer,  that  he  upholds  all  things  by  the  word 
of  his  power.  "  He  upholds  or  sustains  all  things, 
that  is,  the  universe.  It  is  not  merely  the  earth;  not 
only  its  rocks,  mountains,  seas,  animals,  and  men, 
but  it  is  the  universe — all  distant  worlds.  How  can 
he  who  is  not  God  do  this?  He  does  it  by  his 
word — his  command.  What  a  conception!  That  a 
simple  command  should  do  all  this!  I  know  not* 
how  men  can  explain  away  this  ascription  of  infi- 
nite power  to  the  Redeemer.  There  can  be  no 
higher  idea  of  Omnipotence  than  to  say  that  he  up- 
holds all  things  by  his  word;  and  assuredly  he  who 
can  hold  up  this  vast  universe,  so  that  it  does  not  sink 
into  anarchy  or  into  nothing,  must  be  God."  And 
now  the  question  arises,  what  influence  has  this  au- 
thority of  the  Messiah  over  the  material  universe,  on 
the  plan  of  spiritual  redemption?  If  Jesus  wrought 
miracles  in  his  mediatorial  character,  and  with  the 
purpose,  as  we  think,  of  evolving  some  truth  be- 
yond the  validity  of  his  claim  to  Messiahship,  what 
was  that  truth?  If  in  the  days  when  he  appeared  in 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  previous  to  the  offering 
up  of  liimself  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  he  gave  demon- 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBEUIAS.  183 

stralioii  of  his  power  over  the  material  world  by 
chaining  the  hurricane  with  a  word,  is  it  not  fairly- 
inferable  that  the  completion  of  the  atoning  purpose 
was  an  established  certainty  in  the  Divine  counsels? 
Would  the  God  incarnate  have  spoken  thus,  if  the 
completion  of  this  purpose  had  depended  upon  a  con- 
tingency? And  does  not  the  fact  that  Jesus  is  Master 
of  the  universe  give  empliasis,  at  least  to  beings  so 
greatly  influenced  by  the  objects  of  sense  as  we  are, 
to  the  declaration  that  he  is  able  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost,  that  is,  completely,  that  come  unto  God 
by  him?  What  power  can  prevent  this  final  and  ab- 
solute salvation  in  the  case  of  believers?  Not  sin; 
for  it  is  pardoned  for  the  sake  of  him  who  destroyed 
its  condemning  power  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 
Not  the  law;  for  it  is  magnified  and  made  honour- 
able. Not  Satan;  for  captivity  has  been  led  cap- 
tive by  the  all-victorious  Messiah.  Not  the  world; 
for  it  is  under  the  control  of  him  who  is  head  over 
all  things.  Not  death;  for  we  have  seen  him  who 
claims  the  majestic  title  of  "the  Resurrection 
AND  THE  Life,"  commanding  the  last  enemy  to  sur- 
render liis  prey.  The  hurricane  may  bury  the  body 
of  the  believer  in  the  furious  ocean,  or  the  yawning 
earthquake  may  entomb  him  alive,  if  Jesus  so  per- 
mit; but  the  sea  shall  give  up  its  dead,  and  the 
graves  shall  open  at  the  voice  which  stilled  the  storm 
on  the  lake  of  Tiberias.  "I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall 
be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Clnist  Jesus  oiu*  Lord."    And  ought  not  the  con- 


184  THE    FOOTSTEPS    01'    MESSIAH. 

templation  of  the  visible  creation,  with  its  astonisliing 
variety  of  interesting  objects,  to  Avarm  the  affec- 
tions and  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  Christian  to- 
wards his  most  glorious  Lord?  The  seas  and  conti- 
nents, the  rivers  and  islands,  the  forests  and  plains, 
the  deserts  and  fruitful  fields,  of  the  terraqueous 
globe,  belong  to  Him  who  died  for  our  sins  and  rose 
again  for  our  justification.  Light  and  darkness, 
storm  and  calm,  are  among  his  ministering  ser- 
vants. All  speak  of  a  Saviour,  all  point  to  the  Lamb 
of  God,  all  are  parts  of  the  universal  revelation,  which 
finds  its  verbal  summing-up  in  the  Bible,  and  its 
enelTably  brilhant  centre  in  the  exalted  Messiah! 
Moreover,  in  relation  to  Jesus  himself,  how  appro- 
priate that  the  material  scene  of  his  agony,  the 
place  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  should  be  his  in 
possession,  included  in  his  vast  reward !  How  fit 
that  he  who  redeemed  men  should  rule  the  world 
where  his  disciples  are  trained!  How  right  that  he 
should  own  the  earth  once  trod  by  his  own  footsteps, 
and  moistened  by  his  own  blood !  How  consistent 
with  the  character  of  Jehovah,  that  he  who  broke 
the  sceptre  of  the  usurper,  and  bruised  the  serpent's 
head,  should  have  the  rescued  world,  where  the  con- 
flict took  place,  and  where  the  victory  was  achieved, 
as  part  of  his  dominions!  These  considerations, 
also,  indicate  that  the  scheme  of  providence,  which 
we  have  said  is  subservient  to  the  greater  scheme  of 
grace,  is  executed  by  the  Redeemer.  Both  schemes 
indeed  are  only  parts  of  one  great  whole,  of  which 
he  is  the  constituted  and  proclaimed  administrator: 
hence  the  scheme  of  providence,  whether  manifested 
in  the  regulation  of  the  seasons,  or  in  the  experience 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBERIAS.  1S5 

of  an  individual  Christian,  will  never  teach  a  single 
truth  subversive  of,  or  contradictory  to,  any  of  the 
truths  of  that  written  revelation  which  proclaims  the 
scheme  of  grace.  There  will  be  co-operation,  there 
will  be  mutual  illustration,  and  in  due  time,  notwith- 
standing present  mysteries,  worlds  will  be  summoned 
(o  witness  the  glorious  consummation  of  the  purpose 
to  which  both  harmoniously  tend.  It  ought  not  to  be 
matter  of  surprise  that  there  appear  to  us  frequent 
collisions  between  the  experience  of  the  Christian, 
and  what,  judging  from  the  declared  love  of  his  God 
to  him,  ive  should  imagine  that  experience  ought  to 
be;  for  the  comprehensive  plan,  whose  breadth  and 
grandeur  surpass  the  widest  sweep  and  strongest  gaze 
of  human  ken,  is  probably  far  from  its  completion  yet. 
It  is  only  in  the  course  of  evolution,  and,  for  aught 
we  know  of  the  design  as  it  exists  in  the  Eternal 
Mind,  perhaps  only  in  comparatively  its  first  stages. 
The  man  who  is  ignorant  of  architecture,  sees  in  the 
early  stages  of  a  building,  which  he  is  told  is  in- 
tended to  be  a  palace  for  royalty,  only  pieces  of  wall, 
which  appear  to  have  no  connexion  with  each  other, 
and  excavations,  and  rubbish,  and  scaffolding;  but 
the  archetype  of  the  building  is  in  the  mind  of  the 
designer,  and  under  his  direction  the  structure  will 
be  completed  in  due  time  to  the  admiration  of  the 
beholder.  And  at  the  destined  period,  the  eternal 
purpose  of  God  will  be  so  unfolded  to  the  view  of 
all  worlds  as  to  excite  exclamations  of  adoration  and 
gratitude.  Those  things  which  appear  to  us  myste- 
rious, such  as  the  exposure  of  saints  to  the  storms 
and  the  restless  ocean  of  life,  will  be  found  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  his  beneficent  purpose,  "who  is 

16* 


186  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

wonderful   in  counsel,  and   excellent   in   working." 
That  day  is  coming,  that 

"  Great  day, 
To  set  in  proper  light  the  affairs  of  earth, 
And  justify  the  government  Divine ; 

Great  day  I — what  can  we  more?  What  should  we  more  .' 
Great  triumph  day  of  God's  Incarnate  Son  I 
Great  day  of  glory  to  the  Almighty  God! 
Day !   whence  the  everlasting  years  begin 
Their  date,  new  era  in  eternity, 
And  oft  referred  to  in  the  song  of  heaven!" 

It  is  certainly  the  purpose  of  God,  for  it  is  express- 
ly revealed, "  to  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are  on 
earth."  This  grand  and  glorious  purpose,  which  is 
every  way  worthy  of  Him  who  is  love,  requires  only 
to  be  kept  in  view,  to  give  an  overwhelming  idea  of 
the  majesty  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  of  the 
supreme  glory  of  its  exalted  Head.  From  some  pe- 
culiar doctrinal  eminence  men  may  obtain  a  view  of 
one  or  more  of  the  aspects  of  this  dispensation,  as  it 
exhibits  one  or  more  of  the  moral  features  of  man,  or 
as  it  sheds  light  on  one  or  more  of  the  Divine  mani- 
festations; but  from  the  mount  of  revelation,  rising 
up  into  the  third  heavens,  far  above  the  cloud-cov- 
ered scenes  of  sectional  strife,  the  mental  eye,  aided 
by  strong  laith,  can  sweep  the  universe  of  mind 
and  matter,  and,  exulting  in  the  gorgeous  prospect, 
inlaid  with  golden  worlds,  and  alive  with  mighty 
intellects,  can  exclaim,  Christ,  my  Saviour,  my 
Lord,  is  Head  over  all  this!  Ruler  and  Prince  over 
all  this !  This  is  the  breadth  of  hnmanueVs  land. 
The  passage  just  quoted,  is  one  of  those  mounts  of 
revelation.     It  requires  a  strong  foot  to  ascend  it.     It 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBERIAS.  187 

needs,  when  the  summit  is  reached,  a  strong  eye  to 
embrace  the  prospect.  We  see  from  it  tlie  final  re- 
concihation  of  all  things  on  earth  and  in  heaven  in 
Christ.  How  stupendously  grand  the  prospect  from 
this  height!  How  boundless  the  view!  There  is 
110  jarring  element;  no  more  discord  in  the  wide 
universe!  Angels  and  men  are  reconciled;  inter- 
mediate worlds — the  word  in  the  Greek  is  plural — 
"heavens" — rolling  between  Jehovah's  throne  and 
Jiis  footstool,  earth,  are  all  in  harmony,  under  the 
benign  reign  of  Messiah.  Peace  is  restored.  Order 
is  universal.  All  minds  are  loyal — the  impenitent  in- 
habitants of  one  dark  and  solitary  world,  wandering 
in  its  sunless  path  in  the  outskirts  of  creation,  ex- 
cepted. Everything  is  "  put  under"  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Angels,  men,  and  other  intelligences,  bow  to  his 
sceptre.  Worlds  on  worlds  are  upheld  by  his  power, 
safe  in  his  protection,  radiant  in  his  smile,  beauti- 
ful by  his  affluence,  the  scenes  of  his  benignity, 
parts  of  his  measureless  dominions!  The  influence 
of  that  Christianity  which  is  the  medium  of  temporal 
blessings  to  all  mankind,  and  of  spiritual  salvation  to 
those  who  receive  it  in  love,  is  not  confined  to  this 
world  and  the  future  home  of  the  redeemed,  but  in 
some  way,  unknown  to  us,  extends  to  other  creatures 
and  other  worlds.  To  the  principalities  and  powers 
in  heavenly  places  are  made  known,  by  the  Church, 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  Wisdom,  like  the 
works  of  God  in  nature,  greatly  diversified,  varie- 
gated, well  ordered,  or  like  the  panorama  of  a  rich 
and  beautiful  landscape,  tending  to  excite  the  pro- 
foundest  admiration,  is  displayed  in  the  plan  of  re- 
demption, and  by  its  effects  in   the  Church  of  the 


188  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

living  God,  before  the  minds  of  the  higher  ranks  of 
being  in  upper  worlds.  They  have  all  one  Master, 
the  Head  and  King  of  the  Christian  Church.  And 
though  they  may  not  need,  as  men  do,  the  bene- 
fits resulting  from  his  incarnation,  atonement,  and  in- 
tercession, yet  they  see  exhibited  in  them,  and  illus- 
trated by  them,  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God,  who, 
by  such  means,  has  reclaimed  an  alienated  world, 
and  restored  it  to  its  proper  position  among  the  stars 
that  encircle  his  throne. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  results  of  Messiah's  regal 
authority  end  not  even  here.  The  material  world 
is  disordered  by  human  guilt.  Sin  has  poisoned 
matter,  as  well  as  mind.  "Cursed  is  the  ground  for 
thy  sake,"  said  God  to  Adam,  "thorns  also  and 
thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee."  The  sentence 
was  executed.  The  earth  groans  through  all  her 
borders.  Pestilential  vapours  rise  from  many  a 
shore.  The  desert  simoom  kills  the  pilgrim  hordes. 
The  avalanche  rushes  on  its  human  prey.  The 
burning  mountain  covers  cities  with  torrents  of  fire. 
The  lightning  smites  the  way-side  passenger.  The 
tumultuous  ocean  swallows  navies.  The  earthquake 
locks  its  victim  in  its  granite  jaws.  The  winged 
storm  scatters  the  food  of  man,  and  rives  the  forest 
oak.  Blight  and  mildew  prepare  the  way  of  death. 
Add  to  these  those  less  noted,  but  far  more  destruc- 
tive, agents  from  earth,  air,  and  water,  which  are 
ever  infusing  poison  into  the  human  frame;  and 
reminding  man  that  the  material  world  is  full  of 
enemies,  scattered  there  on  account  of  his  sins.  The 
human  "lazar  house,"  built  by  human  guilt,  con- 
tains— 


THE    SEA    OF    TIBERIAS.  189 

"  Numbers  of  all  diseased,  all  maladies 
Of  ghastly  spasm,  or  racking  torture,  qualms 
Of  heart-sick  agony,  all  feverous  kinds, 
Convulsions,  epilepsies,  fierce  catarrhs, 
I  Intestine  stone,  and  ulcer,  colic  pangs, 
Demoniac  phrenzy,  moping  melancholy, 
And  moon-struck  madness,  pining  atrophy, 
Merasmus,  and  wide-wasting  ])estilence. 
Dropsies,  and  asthmas,  and  joint-racking  rheums." 

But  he  who  walked  upon  the  sea  and  commanded 
the  waves  to  be  still,  shall  reconcile  all  things.  Be- 
fore he  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  his  Father,  the 
material  creation  shall  cease  to  contain  a  noxious 
vapour,  a  poison-plant,  or  a  pestilential  influence. 
The  thousand  messengers  of  death  shall  die.  The 
curse  shall  leave  the  ground.  The  boiling  fires  of 
earth  shall  rend  its  crust  no  more.  The  enemies  of 
man  shall  cease,  for  man  shall  cease  to  be  the  ene- 
my of  God.  The  heaving  ocean  shall  no  longer  ter- 
rify, and  the  rushing  hurricane  shall  cease  to  alarm; 
for  he  who  in  the  days  of  his  humiliation  rebuked 
the  winds  and  the  waves  of  Tiberias,  shall  stand 
upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  issue  his  com- 
mand to  a  hsteuing  universe,  '^I'cace,  Be  still!" 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

CESAREA     PHILIPPI. 

THE     CLAIM    TO     MESSIAH  SHI  P. 

Could  we  lose  sight  for  a  moment  of  the  infinitely 
merciful  object  for  which  the  Messiah  appeared  among 
men,  and  fix  our  thoughts  exclusively  on  his  charac- 
ter, we  should  still  find  enough  to  excite  the  profound- 
est  admiration  and  \vonder.  Everything  that  we  can 
imagine  necessary  to  form  the  perfection  of  humanity, 
the  standard  of  our  judgment  being  the  revealed  re- 
quirements of  God,  finds  its  abode  and  centre  in  this 
character.  Neither  before  nor  since  has  there  appear- 
ed among  men  such  a  combination  of  varied  excel- 
lencies, such  a  cluster  of  mental  and  moral  beauties, 
as  dwelt  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  And  these  ex- 
cellencies, we  repeat,  being  such  as  God  himself  re- 
quires, were  positive;  absolutely  up  to  the  divine 
standard,  not  comparative,  or  such  as  distinguish  one 
mere  man  from  another.  The  patience  that  bears 
misrepresentation  and  injury;  the  magnanimity  that 
forgives  enemies;  the  sympathy  that  weeps  with  sor- 
row; the  compassion  that  relieves  distress;  the  love 
to  God  and  men  that  fulfils  the  law;  the  unwearied 
zeal  that  leads  to  practical  efforts  for  the  glory  of 
the  former  and  the  good  of  the  latter;  the  engrossing 
solicitude  that  keeps  its  eye  constantly  on  the  great 


CESAREA    PHILIPPI.  191 

object  of  existence;  the  comprehensive  benevolence 
that  distains  all  selfish  interests;  the  wisdom  that 
selects  the  best  means  for  accomplishing  the  best 
ends;  the  faith  that  wavers  not  in  the  dark  and. 
cloudy  day;  the  piety  that  shines  with  steady  light 
in  sorrow  and  in  joy;  the  perfect  holiness  that  re- 
ceives no  stain  from  surrounding  impurity;  the  re- 
signation that  gathers  motives  to  praise  from  every 
divine  dispensation;  the  spirituality  that  finds  the 
spring  of  conduct  in  the  heart;  the  resolution  that 
founds  itself  on  what  is  immutably  right,  irrespec- 
tive of  temporary  consequences;  the  obedience  to 
Jehovah's  law  which  recognises  in  the  will  of  God 
the  safeguard  of  the  universe;  the  enunciation  of 
truth  for  its  own  sake,  however  it  may  clash  with 
patronised  maxims;  the  sincerity  which  never  di- 
verges from  its  straight  course  to  parley  with  expe- 
diency: the  intellectual  power  that  awes  learning  into 
reverence;  the  condescension  that  attracts  the  timid 
child;  and  the  divine  philosophy  which  measures  hu- 
man conduct  by  an  infallible  standard,  and  places  all 
the  transactions  of  time  in  the  light  of  eternity,  were 
all  found  in,  and  exhibited  by,  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
in  absolute  perfection. 

Nor  was  this  unequalled  character  occasional,  tran- 
sitory, variable.  It  was  uniform,  constant,  unchange- 
able. His  heart  was  always  pure.  His  affections 
were  always  in  harmony;  always  set  on  God; — 
he  loved  hiin  with  all  his  strength,  and  soul,  and 
mind, — and  on  God's  work:  he  delighted  to  do 
it;  and  on  God's  fallen  creatures:  he  failed  not 
until  lie  had  redeemed  them.  His  understanding 
was  always  comprehensive,  his   intellect  clear,  his 


192  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

judgment  infallible.  When  he  taught,  there  was  no 
ostentation.  When  he  suffered,  there  was  no  mur- 
muring. When  he  rejoiced,  there  was  no  levity. 
When  he  rebuked,  there  was  no  asperity.  When 
he  silenced  gainsayers,  there  was  no  boast  of  tri- 
umph. When  he  took  up  children  in  his  arms,  there 
was  no  show  of  condescension.  When  he  walked 
with  the  poor,  there  was  no  affected  superiority. 
When  he  dined  with  the  rich,  there  was  no  con- 
cealment of  his  opinions.  He  asked  no  favour,  he 
sought  no  patronage,  he  courted  no  applause.  Whe- 
ther sitting  among  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  or  in 
one  of  the  cottages  of  Nazareth,  or  in  the  house  of 
the  Pharisee ;  whether  standing  before  the  Jewish 
priests,  or  in  the  presence  of  Herod,  or  at  the  bar 
of  Pilate;  whether  teaching  the  multitude,  or  insti- 
tuting the  eucharist,  or  bearing  his  cross,  he  was  the 
same ;  "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever."  Supremely  beautiful  character!  Who 
that  has  looked  upon  it,  as  delineated  with  inimitable 
fidelity  and  simplicity  in  the  evangelic  history,  can 
fail  uttering  a  burst  of  surprised  delight !  It  has  no 
drawback,  no  shade  out  of  keeping,  no  stain;  there  is 
nothing  to  be  deducted,  nothing  to  be  added.  It  is 
"  altogether  lovely." 

To  his  majestic  miracles,  proving  his  Divine  pre- 
existence  and  authority,  let  his  wonderful  human 
character  be  added,  and  the  validity  of  his  claim  to 
Messiahship,  as  put  forth  in  the  hearing  of  his  disci- 
ples in  the  coasts  of  Cesarea  Philippi,  will  be  fully 
acknowledged. 

In  the  interval  between  the  stilling  of  the  tempest 
and  the  cojifession  of  his  Messiahship,  to  which  at- 


CESAREA    PHILPPir.  193 

tentiori  is  now  called,  our  Lord  had  performed  many 
miracles,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  dis- 
possession of  two  demoniacs  in  the  country  of  the 
Gadarenes — curing  a  woman  of  a  dangerous  disease, 
to  overcome  which  human  effort  had  been  unavailing 
— raising  from  the  dead  the  daughter  of  Jairus — 
feeding  five  thousand  persons  with  five  barley  loaves 
and  two  small  fishes — walking  on  the  sea  and  stilling 
another  storm — allowing  many  diseased  persons  to 
touch  him,  by  which  they  were  immediately  cured 
— casting  out  a  demon  from  the  daughter  of  a  Syro- 
phenician  woman — curing  a  deaf  and  dumb  man — 
satisfying  the  hunger  of  above  four  thousand  persons 
by  seven  loaves  and  a  few  small  fishes — and  giving 
sight  to  a  blind  man  at  Bethsaida;  after  which  he 
went  into  the  towns  belonging  to  Cesarea  Philippi, 
when  he  asked  his  disciples,  "Whom  do  men  say 
that  I  the  Son  of  Man  am?  And  they  said.  Some 
say  that  thou  art  John  the  Baptist:  some,  Elias;  and 
others,  Jeremias,  or  one  of  the  prophets."  "But," 
continued  our  Saviour,  "whom  say  ye  that  I  am?" 
Peter,  with  characteristic  promptitude,  replied,  "Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Jesus 
received  this  declaration,  involving  a  full  recognition 
of  his  office  and  character,  with  the  following  bene- 
diction on  the  speaker,  and  an  assurance  that  his 
opinion  was  a  revelation  from  God  himself:  "Blessed 
art  thou,  Simon  Barjona:  for  flesh  and  blood  hath 
not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  who  is  in 
heaven." 

We  cannot  conceive  of  a  more  explicit  declaration 
of  approval  of  opinion,  ratified  as  it  was  by  a  solemn 
appeal  to  Jehovah  for  its  correctness.    Thou  art  bless- 

17 


194  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

ed  in  the  possession  of  this  firm  faith  in  Me  as  the 
Messiah,  and  the  Son  of  the  hving  God,  which  I  ac- 
knowledge and  approve,  for  it  is  not  the  result  of  hu- 
man teaching,  but  it  has  been  discovered  to  thee  by 
my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  The  testimony  is  ac- 
cepted, and  enshrined  amongst  the  lasting  verities  of 
heaven,  of  which  God  is  the  author  and  revealer.  The 
witness  is  approved  and  blessed,  and  encouraged  to 
go  forth,  with  rock-like  firmness,  in  justification  of  the 
name  he  bore,  for  on  the  immutable  truth  to  which  he 
had  now  borne  testimony,  it  was  the  intention  of  Jesus 
to  build  his  Church.  And  Jesus  himself  now  stands 
before  his  adoring  disciples  as  the  acknowledged  Mes- 
siah, the  Son  of  God,  the  author  of  salvation,  and  the 
Head  of  the  Church. 

After  the  most  careful  examination  of  the  subject, 
and  of  the  conflicting  theories  regarding  the  passage 
which  immediately  follows — "  Thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church" — we  are 
convinced,  though,  as  already  stated,  we  have  no 
critical  object  in  this  work,  that  the  above  is  the 
plain  meaning  which  attaches  to  it.  Jesus  knew  the 
decision  of  character  which  this  apostle  would  evince, 
as  a  witness  both  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  that  he  was  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  and  in  allusion  to 
this  firmness,  he  called  him  nst^oi,  Peter,  a  rock;  he 
knew  with  what  unflinching  firmness  he  would  vindi- 
cate this  fundamental  truth  of  the  new  economy  from 
the  cavillings  of  Jews  and  the  sophistry  of  Gentiles; 
and  he  took  occasion,  as  we  think,  from  this  avowal  of 
Peter,  to  insinuate  that  he  expected  from  him  mani- 
festations of  equal  explicitness  under  trying  circum- 
stances.     It  is,  at  all  events,  perfectly  obvious,  that 


CESAREA    PHILIPPI.  195 

the  recognition  and  confession  of  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  Jie  at  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  Cliurch. 
Without  this,  there  can  be  no  church.  Peter  named 
the  fundamental  truth  of  Christianity.  On  this  trutli 
the  Church  is  built.  Here  is  the  first  doctrine  in 
the  spiritual  economy:  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  great 
Messiah,  and  the  Son  of  the  ever  living  God.  Tiiis 
doctrine  holds  the  same  relation  to  the  plan  of  re- 
demption that  a  firm  foundation  does  to  a  building. 
It  is  the  basis  of  the  superstructure.  The  super- 
incumbent erection  rests  upon  it.  It  afl^ords  secu- 
rity for  the  stability  of  the  edifice.  Let  the  Mes- 
siahship and  Deity  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  both  are 
included  in  Peter's  profession,  be  recognised  in  their 
length  and  breadth,  as  far  as  the  human  mind 
can  recognise  them,  and  the  rock  on  which  the  Chris- 
tian Church  rests  becomes  manifest  in  its  glorious 
strength.  The  gates  of  hell,  the  counsels  of  the  un- 
godly, shall  not  prevail  against  it.  Heresy  may 
work  in  the  dark,  but  it  cannot  undermine;  intestine 
broils  may  trouble,  but  they  cannot  rend;  persecution 
may  rage,  but  it  cannot  overthrow  the  building  so 
founded.  The  flood  and  the  hurricane  may  lash  and 
beat  against  it,  but  their  fury  will  tend  only  to  ex- 
pend themselves,  without  removing  a  single  stone  in 
the  spiritual  temple,  whose  foundation  is  the  Messiah- 
ship  and  Deity  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  a  subject  of  infinite  importance.  Jesus 
Christ  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  and  the  Son  of  the 
living  God.  As  a  doctrine  it  is  ineffably  grand.  It 
stands  out  in  its  own  brilliant  light,  conspicuous 
from  its  inherent  majesty.  And  like  all  other  doc- 
trines of  Scripture,  there  emanate  from  it  Cliristian 


196  THE    FOOTSTEPS   OF    MESSIAH. 

precepts,  and  guiding  principles  for  Christian  faith 
and  practice,  whose  vahie  in  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion must  be  estimated  by  the  position  of  the  doctrine 
from  which  they  emanate.  There  is  no  doctrine  of 
Scripture  introduced  for  the  mere  purpose  of  giving 
uniformity  to  the  plan  of  redemption,  as  developed 
in  the  New  Testament ;  each  has  an  allotted  sphere 
in  which  it  shines,  and  gives  out  its  appropriate 
practical  light  in  its  appointed  region;  and  if  each 
requires  the  exercise  of  faith  in  it  as  a  doctrine,  it 
also  points  to  the  practical  influence  of  that  faith  as 
the  required  evidence  of  its  existence.  The  New 
Testament  is  constructed  on  this  very  principle.  It 
is  a  commentary  on  its  own  doctrines.  It  points  to 
them  as  they  shine  in  the  heaven  of  revelation,  and 
it  summons  man,  for  whose  benefit  they  were  placed 
there,  to  walk  by  the  light  which  they  give.  Thus, 
for  example:  Is  regeneration  a  doctrine  of  Scripture? 
It  requires  ^^servicem.  newness  of  spirit."  Is  Just  i- 
fication  by  faith  in  Christ,  without  the  works  of  the 
law,  a  doctrine  of  Scripture?  It  requires  that  man 
believe  with  the  heart,  and  confess  with  the  mouth, 
and  walk  in  newness  of  life.  Is  adoption  a  doctrine 
of  Scripture?  "Be  ye  \hexeioYQ  followers  o^  God  as 
dear  children,"  is  its  language.  Is  election  a  doctrine 
of  Scripture?  "Give  diligence  to  make  it  sure,"  and 
"put  on,  as  the  elect  of  God,  bowels  of  mercies, 
kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  long-suf- 
fering," are  its  precepts.  Is  sanciification  a  doctrine 
of  Scripture?  The  light  that  shines  from  it  writes 
across  the  Christian's  pathway,  "  Have  no  fellowship 
with  the  unfruitful  ivorks  of  darkness,  but  ratber 
reprove  them."     Is  spiritual  influence  a  doctrine  of 


CESAREA  PHILIPPI.  197 

Scripture?  The  corresponding  command  is,  "Quench 
not  the  Spirit."  Is  the  perseverance  of  saints  a  doc- 
trine of  Scripture?  Its  precept  is  "Continue  in  the 
grace  of  God;"  and  practical  obedience  in  view  of 
it  says,  "I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calUng  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  So  with 
the  doctrine  before  us.  It  sheds  its  own  hght  over 
the  whole  system  of  mercy.  It  points  to  a  thousand 
facts,  and  illumines  a  thousand  circumstances,  which 
otherwise  would  be  involved  in  inexplicable  mys- 
tery. But  it  is  more  than  a  doctrine.  It  is  the  foun- 
tain of  all  the  light  in  which  Divine  revelation  has 
been  bathed,  from  the  days  of  Moses  to  those  of 
John.  Its  rays  embrace  the  paradisiacal  promise 
and  the  apocalyptic  benediction.  Ante-incarnation 
Scriptures  led  the  mind  of  ancient  saints  forward  to 
the  work  and  character  of  Messiah:  subsequent  rev- 
elations recall  that  work  and  describe  that  character; 
and  that  work  and  character  form  to  this  hour,  and 
will  form  henceforth,  the  glorious  centre  of  attraction 
to  all  believers;  for  it  is  the  central  light  of  the  me- 
diatorial dispensation.  Other  doctrines,  as  stars  in 
the  firmament,  revolve  around  it;  but  it  is  the  daz- 
zling sun,  whence  all  their  light  is  derived.  This  is 
the  great  light  which  came  into  the  world.  Revela- 
tion is  the  beautiful  landscape  on  which  its  beams  are 
shed.  Man  is  the  being  summoned  to  gaze  thereon 
and  be  blessed.  And  a  happy  eternity  is  the  pro- 
mised result  of  a  cordial  faith  in  the  source  of  this 
glorious  hght. 

Deny  that  the  Redeemer  is  the  Son  of  God,  in  a 
sense  infinitely  superior  to  that  in  which  the  desig- 
nation  is   applied   to   any  creature,  and   the   whole 

17^ 


198  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

system  of  revelation  is  shorn  of  its  grandeur.  That 
which  was  before  superlatively  attractive,  and  spread 
out  in  living  light  and  glory,  producing  alternately 
exclamations  of  wonder,  and  feelings  of  intense  gra- 
titude, becomes  dim  and  shadowy,  unfinished  and 
confused.  A  system  of  exegesis  must  be  introduced, 
with  no  surer  foundation  than  the  vagaries  of  un- 
aided human  reason;  doctrinal  theology  wanders 
from  its  orbit  and  loses  its  bond  of  union;  and  the 
precepts  of  revelation  are  separated  from  that  mo- 
tive which,  in  apostolitic  writings,  gives  them  such 
force  and  power.  Hence  any  ecclesiastical  confede- 
racy which  is  brought  together  on  such  a  system, 
will  be  destitute  of  energy,  activity,  and  spiritual 
zeal.  It  will  not  try  to  win  the  world  to  Christ. 
It  will  languish  from  inherent  feebleness.  It  will 
neither  have  the  spirit  nor  the  material  for  aggres- 
sion on  the  unreclaimed  wastes  of  the  moral  world; 
for  it  is  destitute  of  faith  in  an  omnipotent  Messiah. 
Under  the  character  of  a  prophet  and  messenger  it 
may  believe  on  him;  but  the  dishonour  done  to 
him  by  denuding  him  of  essential  Deity,  more  than 
counterbalances  the  value  of  such  a  circumscribed 
faith.  It  is  a  faith  which  receives  but  part  of  the 
truth,  and  consequently  has  but  a  partial  operation. 
But  admit  the  claim  of  Jesus  in  its  widest  meaning; 
listen  to  the  messenger,  and  honour  the  Son  as  tiie 
Father  is  honoured;  recognise  in  him  the  Messiah 
and  the  Prince,  Immanuel,  God  with  us;  and  the 
system  of  mercy  stands  before  mankind  in  full  ma- 
jesty; the  foundation  truth  on  which  the  Church 
rests  is  revealed  as  sufficiently  broad  to  bear  the 
hopes  of  a  world;  the  guarantee  for  die  realization 


CESAREA    PHILIPPI.  199 

of  those  hopes  becomes,  as  it  were,  visible  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Word  made  flesh;  the  rays  of  redeeming 
love  that  gild  the  page  of  inspiration  are  seen  to  issue 
from  the  Son  of  God,  who  once  appeared  on  earth 
in  human  form,  walking  on  "  the  world  that  was 
made  by  him/'  and  as  the  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief,  suffering,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  he  might  bring  us  to  God;  and  as  certainly  as 
these  Divine  truths  are  cordially  received  into  the 
heart,  so  certainly  will  its  gratitude  be  excited  to 
count  all  things  but  loss  for  such  a  Saviour,  and  to 
bring  all  men  within  the  influence  of  his  healing 
beams.  Scriptural  views  of  Messiah's  character  are 
necessary  to  correct  views  of  his  claims.  His  re- 
quirements spring  from  what  he  is;  their  length, 
and  breadth,  and  depth,  must  be  measured  by  his 
position  in  the  universe. 

The  grace  of  Christ  was  illustrated  by  his  ac- 
knowledgment of  Messiahship.  It  might  have  been 
deduced  from  his  holy  character,  his  heavenly 
teachings,  and  his  miraculous  power,  added  to  those 
supernatural  occurrences  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,  that  he  was  the  promised  Saviour.  Indeed, 
no  other  conclusion  could  have  been  arrived  at.  But 
to  hear  from  his  own  lips  a  declaration  so  explicit 
as  that  which  is  involved  in  his  response  to  the  pro- 
fession of  Peter,  adds  another  link  to  the  chain  of 
evidence,  and  comes  upon  the  mind  of  the  listener 
like  heavenly  music.  We  hear  it  from  himself,  and 
are  satisfied.  It  is  to  us  an  assurance  that  on  his 
part  everything  should  be  done  to  keep  us  from  walk- 
ing in  darkness,  and  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way 
of  peace;  that  laborious  research  amongst  prophetic 


200  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

scrolls,  and  patient  investigation  of  ancient  opinions, 
should  not  be  essential  so  the  faith  of  the  disciple; 
but  that  on  the  historical  page,  written  for  all  coming 
ages,  it  should  be  found  once  and  again,  that  he 
directly  claimed  to  be  the  long  promised  and  long 
looked  for  deliverer.  The  validity  of  that  claim 
may  be  tested  by  those  who  have  the  requisite 
leisure  and  literary  ability,  by  an  examination  of 
those  sources  of  evidence  which  are  accessible  to  the 
scholar — and  learning  cannot  be  more  honourably 
employed,  nor  wreathe  for  herself  a  richer  chaplet — 
and  the  result  of  that  examination  will  be  to  deepen 
the  conviction,  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  But  still  to  the  thousands  of 
Israel  whose  daily  toil  grants  no  leisure  for  such  in- 
vestigation, and  whose  mental  acquirements  are  too 
limited  to  enter  upon  it,  it  is  a  source  of  devout 
gratitude  to  find  him  whom  they  believe  to  be  "  the 
Truth,"  and  in  whom  is  all  their  hope,  expressly 
acknowledging  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God.  However  valuable  the  labours  of 
learned  men  in  this  department  of  mental  toil, 
and  that  they  are  inexpressibly  valuable,  nothing 
but  the  most  impenetrable  ignorance  will  deny,  yet 
it  is  well  known  that  the  Bible  alone  is  the  school 
book  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  God's  chil- 
dren; to  them  therefore,  to  find  that  Saviour  whom 
they  love  more  than  life,  not  only  giving  evidence 
such  as  no  mere  man  could  have  given  that  he  is 
their  mighty  Redeemer,  but  actually  saying  so,  it  is 
a  fresh  proof  of  his  goodness,  an  additional  illus- 
tration of  his  grace.  To  them  his  word  is  more 
precious   than    rubies,    more    consolatory  than    the 


CESAREA    PHILIPPI.  201 

treasures  of  earth.  They  know  in  whom  they  have 
beUeved,  and  are  persuaded  that  heaven  and  earth 
will  pass  away  before  one  word  of  his  fall  to  the 
ground.  Their  faith  stands  not  in  the  wisdom  of 
men,  but  in  the  power  of  God.  They  have  been 
taught  by  him  who  teacheth  savingly.  They  have 
heard  and  learned  of  the  Father,  and  so  have  come 
to  the  Son;  and  in  him  they  have  found  the  supply 
of  all  their  wants — the  source  of  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory. 

It  is  diflicult  to  avoid  being  arrested  by  the  tone 
of  deep  earnestness  which  characterized  the  speak- 
ers on  this  momentous  occasion.  We  can  imagine 
ourselves  in  their  presence.  We  hear  their  voices. 
We  watch  the  earnest  eye  of  Peter,  and  the  breath- 
less attention  of  the  other  disciples,  whilst  he  was  giv- 
ing verbal  utterance  to  the  faith  common  to  them  all. 

We  look  on  the  serene  majesty  of  the  Redeemer's 
countenance  whilst  gazing  on  that  of  his  dauntless 
disciple.  He  knew  that  that  very  disciple  should 
soon  deny  him;  but  that  afterwards  his  courage 
should  "strengthen  his  brethren."  He  knew  that 
the  confession  of  that  disciple  should  be  the  watch- 
word of  his  followers  in  all  future  ages.  Eagerly 
did  the  twelve  listen  to  the  words  which  came  from 
their  Master's  Hps.  As  he  spake,  a  thrill  of  holy 
joy  awoke  the  best  emotions  of  their  hearts.  They 
were  glad,  and  grateful.  The  spot  became  endeared 
to  their  memories.  Cesarea  Philippi  is  more  ho- 
noured by  having  its  locality  associated  with  this 
scene,  than  by  being  ornamented  by  Philip  the  te- 
trarch,  and  bearing,  in  conjunction  with  his,  the 
proud  name  of  the  Roman  emperor.     We  repeat,  all 


202  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

is  reality  here.  This  looks  not  like  a  myth.  Preju- 
diced is  the  judgment,  and  perverted  is  the  taste  of 
him  who  could  think  so.  There  is  nothing  indistinct, 
or  shadowy — the  speakers  are  real,  the  conversation 
real,  the  subject,  of  eternal  interest.  Man  can  hear 
nothing  that  more  deeply  concerns  him  than  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  and 
God  has  enunciated  nothing  to  which  he  attaches 
more  importance  than  he  does  to  this  revelation. 
The  hopes  of  man  are  suspended  on  it.  To  deny  it 
is  inevitable  ruin,  woe  without  interval,  calamity 
without  cessation,  if  the  denial  be  persisted  in  until 
the  day  of  grace  set  in  the  darkness  of  death.  To 
receive  it  is  to  fall  in  with  the  arrangements  of  eter- 
nal wisdom  and  love,  regarding  the  redemption  of 
men  from  the  power  of  Satan,  sin,  and  death.  Tiie 
earnestness  of  the  group  before  us,  then,  must  have 
added  to  it  the  value  to  every  man  of  the  subject  of 
their  conversation,  which  cannot  fail,  when  properly 
viewed,  to  beget  corresponding  earnestness  in  the 
reader  of  the  narrative.  The  revelation  made  by 
God  to  Peter  regarding  the  work  and  person  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  was  elicited  by  Jesus  for  the  purpose  of 
publication  to  the  world;  for  though  he  commanded 
his  disciples  at  that  time  not  to  make  known  that 
he  was  the  Christ — for  reasons  which  it  is  by  no 
means  difficult  to  understand — yet  it  is  certain  that 
this  doctrine,  the  establishment  of  which  is  absolutely 
essential  to  Christianity,  was  the  starting  point  of 
apostolic  discourses,  after  they  had  receiveti  their 
full  commission  by  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
and  it  is  equally  certain  that  all  the  evangelists 
plainly  declare  it.   The  Redeemer  knew  that  the  opin- 


CESAREA    PHILIPPI.  203 

ion  held  by  Peter  would  be  held  by  all  his  real  dis- 
ciples, and  it  was  educed,  we  doubt  not,  for  the 
purpose  of  being  thus  attractively  placed  on  record 
for  the  ages  to  come. 

Many  ages  have  rolled  into  eternity  since  the 
journey  of  Christ  and  his  disciples  into  the  coasts  of 
Cesarea  Philippi,  carrying  with  them  coundess  my- 
riads of  souls  from  all  the  regions  of  this  great  earth ; 
but  still  there  stands  on  record  the  claim  to  Messiah- 
ship  advanced  by  him  who  alone,  of  all  that  ever 
breathed  beneath  the  sun,  had  the  right  to  advance 
such  a  claim,  and  the  sources  of  evidence  in  favour 
of  his  claim,  instead  of  diminishing  in  number  by 
the  lapse  of  ages  and  the  revolutions  of  nations,  are 
actually  at  this  moment  more  numerous  than  at  any 
previous  period  during  the  last  eighteen  centuries. 
It  is  in  the  nature  of  truth  to  expand.  Examination 
consolidates  its  power.  Opposition  proves  its  strength. 
Whatever  happens,  then,  Christianity  is  the  gainer. 
We  rejoice  in  the  multitudes  of  its  adherents;  we 
would  they  were  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  or  as  the 
stars  of  heaven;  but  the  validity  of  Christ's  claims 
to  Messiahship  rests  not  on  numbers.  Numerical 
strength  is  not  in  itself  always  equivalent  to  moral 
power;  there  may  be  much  of  the  former  with  little 
of  the  latter;  and  we  freely  admit  that  this  is  not  a 
question  to  be  settled  by  votes.  It  takes  a  higher 
range,  and  appeals  to  a  holier  tribunal.  Still,  it  is 
in  the  nature  of  truth  to  expand;  and  as  the  nations 
of  the  earth  become  subject  to  the  sceptre  of  Messiah, 
he  will  raise  up  witnesses  endowed  with  the  spirit 
of  wisdom — intellects,  baptized  with  his  own  Spirit 
— radiant  with  light — animated  by  love — wedded  to 


204  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

truth — to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  de- 
hvered  to  the  saints.  New  sources  of  evidence  will 
open  before  them,  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
time,  and  to  enable  them  to  strip  the  vail  from  any 
dark  spirit  of  heresy  that  may  arise  to  cast  doubt  on 
the  vital  realities  of  our  most  holy  faith.  The  pro- 
gress of  time  will  but  deepen  the  conviction,  that  the 
religion  of  the  cross  is  the  only  religion  for  men — 
that  the  service  of  God  is  their  most  honourable  em- 
ployment— that  eternal  life  is  the  grand  prize  set 
before  them — and  that,  to  obtain  this,  they  must  be- 
lieve in,  and  follow  him,  who  by  the  unerring  Spirit 
of  inspiration  is  declared  to  be  "/Ae  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  LIVING  God." 


CHAPTER   XV. 


THE      HOLY     MOUNT. 


THE   TRANSFIGURATION. 


It  has  been  supposed  by  many  that  Tabor,  whicli 
lay  in  the  tribe  of  Zebulon,  was  the  mountain  hon- 
oured as  the  scene  of  our  Redeemer's  transfigura- 
tion; but  as  there  is  no  certain  evidence  to  deter- 
mine the  correctness  of  this  conjecture,  we  have 
selected  Peter's  characteristic  designation  of  the  spot 
as  the  title  of  this  chapter.  Doubtless,  he  so  named 
it  from  the  glorious  associations  with  which  it  recur- 
red to  his  memory.  He,  and  his  apostolic  brethren, 
James  and  John,  were  honoured  as  the  witnesses  of 
a  scene  of  glory  far  transcending  anything  that  had 
been  seen  on  earth  before,  referring  to  which,  thirty, 
years  afterwards,  he  says,  "We  have  not  followed 
cunningly  devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 
unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty.  For 
he  received  from  God  the  Father  honour  and  glory, 
when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  ex- 
cellent glory.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased.  And  this  voice  which  came  from 
heaven,  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  him  in  the 
Holy  Mount."  To  forget  the  spot  where  two  of  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven,  once  dwellers  on  earth,  ap- 

18 


20G  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

peared  in  their  glorified  forms,  in  the  presence  of 
their  Master,  whose  face  shone  with  a  brightness 
Uke  that  of  the  sun,  and  whose  raiment  became 
white  as  hghtning,  was  surely  impossible;  never- 
theless while  these  divine  circumstances  are  record- 
ed, the  name  of  the  mountain  is  not  given,  proba- 
bly to  prevent  the  encouragement  of  that  supersti- 
tious regard  for  mere  localities,  to  which  men  are  so 
prone  even  under  the  Christian  economy. 

The  transfiguration  of  Jesus,  though  a  circum- 
stance full  of  the  most  pleasing  suggestions,  and  fit- 
ted to  call  forth  feelings  of  delight,  does  not  appear 
to  us  so  astonishing  as  many  other  parts  of  his  won- 
derful history.  Deity  veiled  in  lowly  humanity  was 
far  more  surprising  than  Deity  resplendent  with  its 
own  lustre.  The  former  was  a  continual  miracle ; 
the  latter  was  a  temporary  manifestation  of  essential 
glory.  The  former  gave  evidence  of  what  the  Son 
of  God  became  for  the  sake  of  men;  the  latter 
afforded  a  brief  visible  illustration  of  what  he  was 
before  he  assumed  humanity.  He  had  glory  with 
the  Father  before  the  world  was;  but  in  the  fulness 
of  the  time  he  laid  hold  on  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
and  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  servant.  He 
who  thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, 
appeared  in  the  likeness  of  men;  and  had  it  been 
consistent  with  that  prolonged  state  of  humiliation, 
on  which  he  voluntary  entered,  the  scene  of  "  the 
Holy  Mount"  could  have  been  frequently  exhibited; 
there  could  have  been  frequent  resumptions  of  his 
original  grandeur.  If  a  monarch  lay  aside  the  con- 
comitants of  royalty,  and  mingle  Avith  his  subjects 
for  a  time  as  one  of  themselves,  for  the  purpose  of 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  207 

being  the  almoner  of  his  own  beauty,  the  circum- 
stance is  referred  to  as  a  proof  of  condescension  and 
benevolence,  and  as  an  exception  to  the  ordinary 
manner  in  which  kings  are  expected  to  be  seen. 
Faint,  indeed,  is  this  ilhistration;  nevertheless,  it 
sheds  a  little  light  on  the  idea  we  entertain  of  the 
subject  before  us.  Believing,  as  we  do,  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  his  sojourn 
among  men,  as  a  man,  poor,  despised,  maligned, 
persecuted,  killed,  excites  our  astonishment  to  an 
inexpressible  degree;  whilst  in  the  ineffable  bright- 
ness of  his  appearance,  and  the  glory  of  his  counte- 
nance on  the  Mount,  we  see  an  evidence  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  our  faith  as  to  his  real  character,  and 
find  relief  that,  if  only  for  a  brief  period,  he  ap- 
peared before  "two  or  three  witnesses"  radiant  with 
his  own  light,  glorious  in  his  undisguised  majesty. 
His  appearance  in  the  form  of  ordinary  humanity 
was,  as  a  fact,  a  proof  of  wonderful  condescension ; 
and  the  object  he  had  in  view,  for  which  this  as- 
sumption of  humanity  was  preparatory,  was  so  be- 
nevolent and  merciful,  as  to  bring  with  it  its  own 
evidence  that  it  must  have  originated  in  the  mind  of 
God.  To  trace  the  idea  of  redemption  to  an  inferior 
source,  is  to  ask  us  to  believe  in  an  effect  greater  than 
its  cause.  The  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  then, 
was  a  preliminary  veiling  of  his  proper  character, 
that  through  humanity  the  purpose  of  his  eternal 
love  might  be  accomplished;  whilst  the  glory  on  the 
Mount  was  a  visible  declaration  of  his  proper  cha- 
racter. For  a  short  period  the  "true  light"  burst 
forth;  the  Sun  of  righteousness  shone  without  eclipse; 
those   beams  which  had  hitherto   been  confined,  hi 


208  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

mercy  to  men,  rushed  forth  on  the  witnesses  with 
alarming  power.  It  is  easy  to  perceive,  that  had  the 
Redeemer  walked  thus  on  earth,  the  design  of  his 
mission  could  not  have  been  accomplished.  All  men 
would  have  fallen  prostrate  before  him.  Every  eye 
would  have  been  blinded  by  "  the  brightness  of  that 
light."  The  sun  would  have  set  hi  darkness,  and 
the  moon  would  have  ceased  to  give  her  light.  The 
glory  of  the  transfiguration,  then,  was  the  proper 
glory  of  Christ,  and  his  ordinary  appearance  among 
men  was  the  real  source  of  wonder. 

Nevertheless,  we  may  be  permitted  to  stand  in  the 
distance  and  look  upon  the  Holy  Mount;  for  if  it 
has  not  some  lesson  for  us,  connected  either  with 
the  doctrines  or  precepts  of  the  new  economy,  or  if 
it  contain  not  some  facts  associated  with  the  grand 
purpose  of  redemption,  it  is  an  exception  to  the  other 
events  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  But  instead  of  proving 
such  an  exception,  it  is  rather  fitted  to  deepen  our 
impressions  of  the  greatness  of  that  glory  which  is 
to  be  revealed,  and  to  strengthen  our  desires  after 
that  immortality  which  has  been  brought  to  light  by 
the  gospel.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  miracles 
of  our  Lord  were  intended  to  convey  great  lessons, 
beyond  the  establishment  of  his  claim  to  Messiah- 
ship,  and  it  has  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  the 
writer  to  find,  since  the  previous  part  of  this  work 
was  written,  the  following  vivid  illustration  of  this 
opinion  in  one  of  the  essays  of  the  celebrated 
D'Aubigne:  "True  Christianity,  true  piety,  may  be 
thought  very  extraordinary  in  this  selfish  world ; 
but  as  soon  as  Christianity  has  been  recognised, 
men  must  no  longer  wonder  at  certain  tlnngs  which 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  209 

belong  to  its  very  nature,  although  they  are  wholly 
contrary  to  the  common  course  of  things  in  the  world. 
To  make  oneself  a  slave  is  contrary  to  nature,  for 
man  loves  liberty;  he  was  born  in  it,  and  a  man 
who  is  degraded  enough  to  sell  himself  to  another, 
deserves  all  the  contempt  of  his  fellows.  Neverthe- 
less, we  are  told  that  missionaries  liave  become  slaves 
among  slaves,  so  that  they  might  save  some  of  them ; 
and,  far  from  exciting  our  contempt,  they  win  our 
warmest  admiration.  As  soon  as  Christianity  is  ad- 
mitted, we  call  that  a  simple  and  even  excellent  deed 
which,  a  few  moments  before,  we  thought  to  be  revolt- 
ing. So  it  was  with  miracles:  that  which  in  the  or- 
dinary course  of  things  would  appear  very  extraordi- 
nary, becomes  natural  when  the  supreme  God  reveals 
himself.  When  revelation  is  admitted,  miracles  are 
likewise  admitted;  as  when  a  Christian's  charity  is 
recognised,  all  the  prodigies  of  devotion  accompany 
it.  Without  miracles,  revelation  would  not  reveal 
the  power  and  divinity  of  him  who  speaks.  Without 
them,  instead  of  being  a  glorious  and  evident  fact,  it 
would  be  abstruse  and  obscure.  Miracles  alone  give 
it  real  publicity.  They  alone  can  and  do  announce 
that  the  God  of  heaven  makes  known  the  mysteries 
of  his  charity  to  the  earth.  To  consider  each  of 
the  miracles  as  an  isolated  fact  is,  as  Neander  re- 
marks, a  very  erroneous  manner  of  looking  at  them. 
Then,  indeed,  they  would  not  be  rational.  Each 
miracle  is  a  member  of  a  vast  whole,  and  is  part 
of  an  union  of  manifestations  of  the  Divine  Creator. 
Suppose  a  man  condemned  by  the  law  sees  his  fetters 
suddenly  unbound  and  the  door  of  his  prison  opened, 
and  hears   these  words:   'Go,  and   save    thyself!'  1 

IS* 


210  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

can  then  exclaim  that  the  laws  are  broken.  But  if  I 
consider  this  fact  in  connexion  with  other  facts;  if  I 
learn  that  a  great  king  has  just  returned  to  his  cap- 
ital, perhaps  after  a  rebellion;  that  he  resumes  the 
throne;  that  he  celebrates  the  marriage  of  his  son, 
and  that  he  wishes  all  the  people,  even  to  the  pri- 
soner in  his  dungeon,  to  share  the  joy  he  feels ; 
then  this  fact,  which,  when  isolated,  appeared  ex- 
traordinary, seems  perfectly  natural  in  connexion 
with  this  event.  This  is  not  the  only  fact  of  the 
same  nature;  other  prisons  have  been  opened,  other 
debts  have  been  paid,  other  misfortunes  have  been 
alleviated.  And  all  these  various  events  concentrate 
in  one:  'The  king  has  returned,  and  he  wishes  to 
show  his  favour  to  his  people.'  It  is  even  so  with 
miracles:  they  unite  in  one  single  fact,  the  coming 
of  God  on  earth,  the  restoration  of  union  between 
the  holy  God  and  sinful  humanity.  This  principal 
fact  is  the  great  miracle.  It  draws  all  the  others 
along  with  it.  Who  will  wonder  at  these  lesser  de- 
liverances, granted  to  the  bodies  of  men,  when  eternal 
deliverance  of  their  souls  appears?  Are  you  surprised 
to  see  a  beam  of  light  entering  your  chamber,  when 
the  glorious  orb  of  the  sun  has  risen  in  the  skies? 
When  once  the  principle  is  acknowledged,  all  the 
consequences  must  be  submitted  to."  In  like  man- 
ner, we  think  the  fact  of  the  transfiguration  suggests 
truths  whose  value  in  the  scheme  of  grace  is  so  great 
that,  in  addition  to  the  verbal  summons  to  attend  to 
them,  this  splendid  scene  may  be  said  to  utter  the 
same  language. 

Is  there,  for  instance,  perfect  harmony  between  the 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  211 

law  and  the  gospel?  Are  they  essentially  in  accord- 
ance? Are  they  parts  of  one  comprehensive  scheme? 
Successive  developments  of  one  divine  plan?  On  the 
mount  of  transfiguration  we  find  Moses  luith  Christ. 
Is  the  intermediate  link  between  the  Mosaic  insti- 
tutes and  the  gospel  revelation  in  keeping  with  both? 
Moses  and  Elias  talk  with  Jesus.  Here  is  harmony, 
here  is  perfect  accordance,  here  is  holy  unity.  Did 
the  law  and  the  prophets  point  to  Jesus?  Here  the 
representatives  of  both  meet  him.  The  preceding 
systems  merge  in  Christianity.  It  is  the  greater 
light.  They  acknowledge  it,  and  pay  homage  to  it 
accordingly.  For  what  was  the  subject  of  conver- 
sation on  the  Mount?  What  great  topic  engaged 
the  thoughts  of  the  glorified  law-giver,  and  his  ce- 
lestial compeer?  They  spake  of  the  decease  which 
Jesus  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  by  which  the 
Mosaic  ritual  was  to  be  for  ever  abolished,  and  to 
which  prophecy  pointed  her  disciples.  The  death 
of  Jesus,  the  greatest  of  all  great  events,  formed  tiie 
theme  of  discourse  between  these  celestial  visitants. 
They  dwelt  upon  the  sacrifice  he  was  to  offer — of 
which  the  sacrifices  introduced  by  the  agency  of 
Moses  were  types  and  shadows — and  by  which  he 
was  to  proclaim  the  atonement,  and  bring  in  ever- 
lasting righteousness,  and  establish  the  new  econ- 
omy, and  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  all  believers. 
The  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should 
follow,  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  uni- 
versal diffusion  of  the  gospel,  the  happiness  of  the 
nations  in  consequence  thereof,  and  the  world's  pe- 
riod of  sabbatic  rest,  together  with  the  vast   influx 


212  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  redeemed  inhabitants  into  that  heaven  to  which 
they  were  just  about  to  return,  were  perhaps  also 
touched  on  by  Moses  and  EUas.  By  faith  in  the 
long  promised  Messiah  they  were  permitted  to  en- 
ter into  rest,  and  to  share  in  the  glories  of  immor- 
tality; and  now  they  are  honoured  to  stand  in  the 
presence  of  their  Lord  and  Redeemer,  and  to  hold, 
converse  with  him  of  whom  Moses  wrote;  and,  we 
doubt  not  their  enjoyment  of  heavenly  felicity  would 
be  enhanced  by  the  anticipation  of  a  countless  mul- 
titude of  companions  from  all  the  regions  of  the 
earth,  through  the  merits  of  the  decease  which 
Christ  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.  The  strug- 
gle awaited  him,  but  it  led  to  victory.  The  agony 
lay  in  his  path,  but  it  was  the  way  to  honour. 
Contempt  was  near,  but  beyond  was  glory.  The 
cross  was  in  sight,  but  the  crown  followed.  He  was 
to  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  but  God  should 
therefore  highly  exalt  him,  and  give  him  a  name 
above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father.  These  anticipations 
were  doubtless  felt,  and  these  and  similar  divine 
themes  spoken  of,  on  the  Mount  of  transfiguration. 
And  does  not  the  descent  of  those  two  ancient 
saints  to  the  Mount  to  meet  Jesus,  suggest  that  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven  speak  much  about  Christ  and 
his  redemption,  and  that  they  take  a  deep  interest 
in  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  our  world?  If 
angels  earnestly  desire  to  contemplate  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  and  the  glorious  announcements  of  the 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  213 

gospel,  all  of  which  relate  to  those  sufferings,  can  it 
be  supposed  that  the  redeemed  dwellers  in  heaven, 
who  owe  their  mansions  there,  and  their  guaranteed 
immortality  to  those  sufferings,  are  either  ignorant 
of  the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  or 
indifferent  as  to  the  results  of  the  constantly  preached 
gospel?  If  angels  carry  the  tidings  of  conversion 
to  heaven,  and  produce  joy  amongst  their  fellow- 
angels  by  those  tidings,  can  the  redeemed  from 
among  men  walk  by  the  banks  of  the  river  of  life 
without  sharing  in  that  joy?  Can  David  and  Isaiah, 
and  Job  and  Daniel,  pay  but  little  attention  to  the 
results  of  that  atoning  death,  to  speak  concerning 
which,  previous  to  its  accomplishment,  brought  Mo- 
ses and  Ehas  from  heaven  to  earth?  If  angels 
are  sent  forth  as  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of 
salvation,  are  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect 
kept  in  profound  ignorance  of  the  state  and  charac- 
ter of  their  younger  brethren  in  the  Church  below  ? 
Does  the  great  Father  keep  his  eldest  sons,  who  are 
established  in  loyalty,  and  perfected  in  character, 
and  who  dwell  near  his  throne,  in  ignorance  of  all 
that  is  transpiring  in  the  world  in  which  they  were 
regenerated,  adopted,  justified,  and  sanctified — the 
world  in  which  his  dear  Son  and  their  adored  Lord 
lived,  and  died,  and  conquered?  Are  all  the  sources 
of  intelligence  from  the  lower  world  shut  up  from 
the  inhabitants  of  the  upper?  And  when  memory 
recalls  the  painful  and  pleasing  scenes  of  earth,  is 
no  messenger  allowed  to  gratify  the  wish  for  infor- 
mation regarding  the  moral  state  of  still  remembered 
friends  left  in  the  wilderness?  It  is  true,  these  are 
but  questions,  and  it  is  also  true  that  they  embrace 


214  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

considerations  and  subjects  regarding  which  it  may 
be  urged  that  we  are  left  greatly  in  the  dark.  It  is 
admitted.  We  have  no  wish  to  travel  beyond  the 
record.  Speculation  may  be  met  by  counter  spe- 
culation, and  amidst  the  region  of  mere  theory  man 
finds  no  resting  place  for  the  sole  of  his  foot.  He 
wanders  on  from  thought  to  thought,  without  a  guide, 
without  a  star.  But  we  are  mistaken  if  revelation 
do  not  contain,  at  least,  some  allusions  which  seem 
to  warrant  the  inference  that  the  spirits  of  the  glo- 
rified have  knowledge  of  what  is  passing  on  earth, 
remember  its  scenes  and  associations,  and  rejoice  in 
those  arrangements  which  God  has  made  for  the  per- 
petuity of  Christianity  and  the  triumph  of  grace. 

We  have  already  seen  Moses  and  Elias  speaking 
about  that  subject  which,  of  all  others,  most  deeply 
engages  the  thoughts  of  believers  on  earth — the  death 
of  Jesus.  We  also  know  that  heaven's  inhabitants 
remember  well  the  source  of  their  salvation  and 
glory.  They  sing  the  praises  of  him  who  was  slain, 
and  who  redeemed  them  by  his  blood  from  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  Moses 
and  Elias  knew  nothing  about  the  state  of  matters 
on  earth,  the  point  to  which  the  development  of  the 
mediatorial  plan  had  reached,  the  progress  of  Jesus 
in  his  work,  or  the  reception  he  had  met  with  from 
the  inhabitants  of  Judea,  until  the  command  was 
issued  for  their  flight  to  our  world?  Had  they  to 
learn  all  these  things  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  himself 
on  the  Mount  of  transfiguration?  This  cannot  be 
deemed  probable.  But  if  they  knew  these  things 
before,  why  not  others  of  the  dwellers  in  glory? 
Why  not  all?     That  memory  recalls  the  facts  of  time 


THK    HOLY    MOUNT.  215 

to  those  who  have  gone  to  the  invisible  world  can 
scarcely  be  doubted.  The  rich  man  is  represented 
by  our  Lord  as  recollecting  the  number  of  his 
brethren,  and  Abraham  is  described  as  remembering 
that  they  had  access  to  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  and  that  the  design  of  those  writings  was 
to  preserve  men  from  future  woe,  and  to  direct  them 
to  future  happiness.  Such  circumstances  as  these 
would  not  have  been  introduced  even  into  a  parable, 
had  they  not  related  to  facts.  In  the  apocalyptic 
vision  John  saw  the  souls  of  the  martyrs,  and  heard 
them  crying  with  a  loud  voice,  "How  long,  0  Lord, 
holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our 
blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?  The  reply 
was,  "  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season, 
until  their  fellow  servants  also,  and  their  brethren 
that  should  be  killed  as  they  were,  should  be  ful- 
filled." This,  also,  though  part  of  a  vision,  indi- 
cates, we  think,  that  the  martyrs  remember  well  the 
fact  and  circumstances  of  their  martyrdom,  and  that 
intelligence  was  conveyed  to  them,  that  on  the  earth 
from  which  they  came  the  spirit  of  persecution  was 
still  pursuing  its  fearful  work.  And  in  the  same 
vision,  where  the  awful  destruction  of  Babylon  is 
depicted,  with  a  power  of  description  never  equalled 
by  uninspired  pen,  the  command  goes  forth,  ''Re- 
joice over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles 
and  prophets;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her." 
Apostles  and  prophets  have  been  in  heaven  for  many 
ages;  Babylon,  is  not  yet  destroyed;  but  they  will 
be  informed  thereof  when  the  event  takes  place ;  and 
are  we  to  suppose  that  they  are  at  this  moment  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  the  rapid  progress  of  providen- 


216  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

tial  circumstances  towards  this  grand  consummation? 
There  are  other  passages  which  appear  to  us  to  teach 
the  same  thing,  of  which  we  select  only  one.  It  is 
that  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  where,  after  the 
writer  had  enumerated  the  triumphs  of  faith  as 
exemplied  in  the  case  of  many  persons  whom  he 
names,  he  adds,  "  Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth 
so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the 
race  that  is  set  before  us."  It  is  true  that  Macknight 
says,  "By  using  this  figure,  the  apostle  did  not  mean 
to  insinuate  that  the  saints  in  the  other  world  know 
what  we  are  doing  in  this,  but  to  teach  us  to  think 
of  them  often,  that,  by  the  recollection  of  their  trials 
and  virtues,  we  may  stir  ourselves  up  to  greater 
diligence  in  our  Christian  course."  That  the  apos- 
tle meant  to  stimulate  us  to  Christian  fidelity  and 
perseverance  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  he  expressly 
says  so;  but  that  the  motive  presented  was  simply 
a  recollection  of  the  trials  and  virtues  of  the  Hebrew 
martyrs,  is  an  opinion  which  appears  to  us  to  fall 
short  of  his  full  meaning.  We  think  he  did  "mean 
to  insinuate  that  the  saints  in  the  other  world  know 
what  we  are  doing  in  this."  The  word  translated 
witnesses  comes  from  /nag^'up,  a  witness,  one  who 
bears  testimony,  and  is  the  same  word  which  occurs 
in  Matthew  xviii.  16,  "If  he  will  not  hear  thee, 
take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be  estab- 
lished." Here,  to  learn  facts,  was  undoubtedly  the 
design  for  which  the  "  two  or  three"  were  to  be 
brought  into  the  presence  of  the  offending  brother. 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  217 

They  were  to  pay  strict  attention  to  what  he  said  and 
did,  and  to  give  evidence  accordingly.  "A  cloud  of 
witnesses"  evidently  means  a  multitude,  a  great  com- 
pany of  lookers  on,  or  spectators;  and  as  there  can- 
not be  a  doubt  that  the  apostle  alludes  to  the  Olym- 
pic races,  where  persons  were  appointed  to  watch 
wlio  first  reached  the  goal,  and  to  give  evidence 
thereof,  that  the  victor's  crown  might  be  bestowed 
upon  him,  so  we  believe  the  apostle  meant  to  convey 
the  idea  that  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  are  cognizant 
of  the  conduct,  and  watch  the  progress  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  on  earth.  With  this  view  of  the 
subject,  the  apostle's  argument  for  running  in  the 
Christian  race  is  solemnly  striking,  and  his  allusion 
to  the  stadium  remarkably  apposite;  whereas,  the 
opinion  entertained  by  Macknight  and  others,  either 
makes  the  glorified  Hebrew  martyrs  witnesses  of  a 
matter  of  which  they  were  utterly  ignorant,  or  shifts 
the  idea  of  witnesses  from  them  to  us.  This  process 
of  mental  transference  of  ideas  is  not  a  characteristic 
of  tlie  writings  of  Paul.  We  believe  that  the  inha- 
bitants of  heaven  know  what  transpires  on  earth,  and 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  warrant  that  belief;  but  as 
our  object  does  not  permit  us  to  pursue  the  subject 
further  here,  we  return  to  the  transfiguration. 

The  next  fact  that  arrests  attention  on  the  holy 
mount  is,  the  singular  proposal  of  Peter  that  Jesus 
would  allow  him  and  his  fellow  apostles,  James  and 
John,  to  erect  three  tabernacles  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  their  Master  and  the  two  heavenly  visitors,  a 
proposal  for  which  Luke  offers  something  like  an 
apology,  by  adding — "Not  knowing  what  he  said." 
The  disciples,  who  were  aroused  from  sleep  by  the 

19 


218  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

glory  of  Jesus  and  that  of  "the  two  men  that  stood 
with  him,"  were  filled  with  surprise  and  alarm  at 
the  magnificent  and  unexpected  sight.  Moses  and 
Elias  were  in  the  act  of  returning  to  their  mansions 
on  high,  having  executed  the  commission  with  which 
they  had  been  entrusted,  when  Peter  submitted  -this 
proposal  to  his  Lord;  but  it  was  prefaced  by  a 
thought  which  at  once  finds  its  way  to  our  holiest 
feelings,  and  awakens  hope  regarding  the  happiness 
of  that  home  whence  the  saints  "shall  go  no  more 
out.  He  said  to  Jesus,  "  Master,  it  is  good  for  us 
to  be  here."  This  simple  statement  finds  an  echo  in 
the  hearts  of  all  who  know  what  it  is  to  have  com- 
munion with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  Even  though  the  Redeemer's  glory  is  seen 
only  through  a  glass  darkly  in  the  present  state  of 
being,  yet — 

"  How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place 
With  Christ  within  the  doors, 
While  everlasting  love  displaj's, 
The  choicest  of  her  stores." 

Multitudes  have  adopted  in  the  closet,  at  the  com- 
munion table,  and  in  the  sanctuary,  the  expression 
of  Peter,  "Master,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here." 
But  what  of  those  who  have  exchanged  the  groans 
of  earth  for  the  glory  of  heaven,  who  behold  the 
brightness,  not  of  Moses  and  Elias  only,  but  of  an 
mnumerable  company  of  angels,  and  of  all  the  ra- 
diant throng  of  ransomed  men;  and  who  see  Jesus 
in  the  unutterable  effulgence  of  his  own  uncreated 
glory,  giving  light  over  all  the  regions  of  his  great 
paradise  of  joy?  Do  they  wish  to  return  to  this 
dark  earth,  or  is  the  joyous  sentiment  of  their  hearts, 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  219 

like  that  of  Peter  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration, 
"  it  is  good  to  be  here?^*  Is  there  any  longing  after 
the  scenes  of  mortality,  or  are  they  "full  of  joy"  in 
tlie  presence  of  the  blessed?  These  questions  admit 
of  but  one  answer.  Everything  that  can  render 
heaven  desirable  is  theirs  in  full  possession.  Their 
bliss  is  complete.  Those  hopes  which  animated  them 
on  earth  are  all  realized,  and  more  than  realized. 
They  see  the  Master  whom  they  loved,  and  are 
happy.  Their  cares  are  over.  Their  fears  are  only 
matter  of  history.  Their  doubts  are  all  past.  Their 
struggles  with  the  world,  and  depravity,  and  temp- 
tation, have  for  ever  ceased.  Their  wanderings  have 
terminated  in  a  glorious  home.  Their  tears  liave 
ceased  to  flow.  No  groan  escapes,  no  sigh  heaves 
tiie  breast,  no  sorrow  bends  the  head,  no  feebleness 
weakens  the  limbs,  no  grief  wrings  the  heart,  no 
disappointment  breaks  the  spirit.  The  crown,  the 
palm,  the  robe,  are  theirs  by  sovereign  grant. 
Heaven's  highest  authority  has  invested  them  with 
regal  dignity,  and  put  them  in  undisputed  posses- 
sion of  eternal  immunities.  The  freedom  of  all  hea- 
ven is  theirs. 

"  Behold  them  yonder,  where  the  river  pure 
Flows  warbling  down  before  the  throne  of  God; 
And,  shading  on  each  side,  the  tree  of  life 
Spreads  its  unfading  bouglisl — See  how  they  shine, 
In  garments  white,  quaffing  deep  draughts  of  love, 
And  harping  on  their  harps,  new  harmonies 
Preparing  for  the  ear  of  God,  Most  Highl" 

If  the  apostles  felt  it  good  to  be  on  the  mount  with 
Jesus,  Moses,  and  Elias,  how  supremely  good  must 
it  be,  to  he  for  ever  with  the  Lord!  for  ever  with 


220  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

prophets,  apostles,  martyrs,  angels,  and  the  countless 
multitude !  for  ever  in  possession  of  man's  true  glory 
— Holiness  of  Heart! 

But  to  secure  this  inexpressible  felicity  for  every 
child  of  Adam  who  renounces  his  own  righteousness, 
and  cordially  embraces  the  glorious  offers  made  by 
God  in  the  gospel,  is  the  great  design  of  the  death 
which  Jesus  suffered  at  Jerusalem,  and  which  formed 
the  subject  of  solemn  thought  on  the  mount  of  trans- 
figuration. This  happiness  has  been  attained  by  all 
the  redeemed  who  are  now  in  heaven.  It  will  be 
reached  by  all  who  shall  remain  faithful  unto  death, 
but  the  recollection  that  the  priestly  and  prophetic 
offices  of  our  Lord  are  inseparably  connected,  is  es- 
sential. Look  again  to  the  holy  mount.  A  new  and 
glorious  scene  appears.  While  Peter  spake,  there 
came  a  bright  cloud  and  overshadowed  them.  The 
symbol  of  the  Divine  presence  is  there.  The  moun- 
tain is  canopied  with  the  Shechinah.  "And,  be- 
hold, there  came  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which 
said — This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased,  hear  ye  him."  At  the  Redeemer's  baptism, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  same  voice  attested  his  Messiah- 
ship.  Now  it  is  repeated  amidst  circumstances  of 
additional  solemnity  and  holy  grandeur.  Greater 
glory  manifested  on  earth,  it  is  impossible  to  imagine. 
What  a  confluence  of  the  great,  the  holy,  the  im- 
posing, the  awful  is  here !  How  intense  the  interest 
which  all  heaven  takes  in  the  redemption  of  ruined 
men!  Its  angels  come  down,  once  and  again,  on 
messages  relating  to  man's  Redeemer!  Two  of  its 
glorified  human  inhabitants  come  down  to  speak  with 
man's  Redeemer!      The  eternal  Spirit  descends  on 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  221 

mcni^s  Redeemer!  God  the  Father,  whose  uncre- 
ated glory  is  too  effulgent  for  created  vision,  once  and 
again,  speaks  in  the  hearing  of  mortals,  respecting 
man's  Redeemer!  For  wlioni  are  all  these  manifes- 
tations of  the  riches  of  Divine  beneficence?  For 
Christ,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  for  the 
Son  of  God,  because  he  had  undertaken  to  be  man's 
Redeemer.  "Herein  is  love."  And,  hear  0  hea- 
vens! and  give  ear,  0  earth!  the  only  intelligent 
creature  in  the  whole  universe  that  is  indifferent  to 
these  stupendous  transactions  is — Man!  The  only 
being  in  God's  magnificent  creation  that  hears  the 
name  of  Jesus  without  emotion  is — Man!  Man 
mocked,  scourged,  crucified  him!  Man  denies  his 
Deity,  his  holiness,  his  Messiahship !  Man  tramples 
on  his  blood,  derides  his  mercy,  and  blasphemes 
his  name!  Man  scorns  his  authority,  slights  his 
intercession,  and  refuses  his  teaching !  And  still  he 
loves!  And  still  the  Father's  voice  issues  from  the 
Shechinah  to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  "Hear  ye 
Him!" 

This  command  relates  to  that  prophetic  office 
which,  as  has  been  said,  is  inseparably  connected  with 
the  priestly  office  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  who 
atones  must  teach.  He  who  offers  sacrifice  must  in- 
struct men  regarding  the  affairs  of  his  own  kingdom. 
He  who  laid  down  his  life  to  redeem  men  must  have 
the  nations  at  his  feet,  to  point  out  to  them  the  way 
of  life.  They  must  receive  the  law  at  liis  mouth. 
The  gospel  is  his  gospel.  The  evangelists  are  his 
historians.  The  apostles  speak  of  him.  This  is 
tlie  Divine  arrangement.  Here  is  the  beautiful  har- 
mony existing   between  the    priestly  and   prophetic 

19* 


222  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

offices  of  the  Mediator.  Moses  and  Elias  spake  of 
his  decease;  God  the  Father  summons  attention  to 
his  instructions.  And  what  are  those  instructions? 
To  what  do  they  relate'^  What  do  they  embrace? 
Those  instructions  are  all  holy,  just,  and  good. 
Founded  upon  the  nature  of  God  and  the  relation 
in  which  he  stands  to  his  creatures,  they  propose 
the  real  interests  of  man  for  time  and  eternity,  with- 
out undermining  one  correct  principle  of  action,  or 
interfering  with  one  proper  deduction  of  reason,  or 
drying  up  one  source  of  legitimate  pleasure.  They 
are  in  accordance  with  what  ought  to  be,  what  is 
essentially  right — right  in  itself,  right  for  ever.  They 
proceed  from  infinite  love  and  infinite  wisdom,  and 
propose  to  man,  amidst  his  ignorance  and  degrada- 
tion, in  consequence  of  guilt,  the  plan  of  God  by 
which  that  guilt  may  be  pardoned,  that  degradation 
escaped  from,  and  that  ignorance  removed.  They 
show  that  all  this  can  be  done  honourably ,  both  to 
God  and  man;  and  so  effectually^  that  at  no  period 
throughout  eternity  will  there  be  any  danger  of  mo- 
ral relapse;  and  so  wisely,  that  no  creature  in  holy 
worlds  shall  have  reason  to  complain.  The  proposal 
introduces  no  jarring  note  amongst  the  harmonies  of 
the  universe.  No  angelic  jealousy  will  be  awakened 
by  the  immense  favour  shown  to  man;  but,  on  the 
contrary  the  happiness  of  angels  themselves  will  be 
increased  thereby.  Those  who  have  maintained 
their  original  integrity,  will  find  in  redeemed  men  a 
new  brotherhood  of  love.  The  fact  that  they  have 
been  redeemed  by  him  whom  angels  acknowledge 
Master,  redeemed  without  tarnishing  God's  holiness, 
or  suspending  God's  law,  or  trespassing  on  the  im- 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  22o 

munities  of  God's  angels,  will  excite  the  admiration 
and  joy  of  those  pure  beings  for  ever.  Such  is  the 
nature  of  the  instructions  of  Christ  the  prophet. 

And  to  what  do  those  instructions  relate?  The 
answer  would  fill  a  volume.  It  does  fill  a  volume. 
It  fills  the  Bible,  the  best  volume  in  human  lan- 
guage. Those  instructions  relate  to  the  heart,  the 
feelings,  the  wishes,  the  fears,  the  hopes,  the  in- 
tellect, the  understanding,  the  judgment,  the  con- 
science, the  whole  being  of  man.  They  point  to  the 
motives  of  his  action,  the  principles  of  his  conduct, 
and  the  character  of  his  practice;  they  tell  him  what 
he  was  before  sin  hurled  him  from  his  high  position 
among  the  creatures  of  Jehovah,  what  he  is  now  in 
consequence  of  transgression,  and  what  he  shall  be 
if  obedient  to  those  instructions.  They  tell  him 
what  to  hate  and  what  to  love,  what  to  shun  and 
what  to  follow,  what  to  fear  and  what  to  hope  for. 
They  inform  him  about  God  and  Christ,  and  heaven 
and  hell,  and  angels  and  devils,  and  time  and  eternity. 
They  relate  to  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future. 
They  reveal  the  hidden,  and  explain  the  mysterious, 
•and  pour  light  on  the  dark.  They  assign  reasons  for 
the  moral  law  and  its  sanctions ;  they  trace  the  origin 
of  the  gospel,  and  describe  its  object;  and  they  point 
to  Christianity,  and  in  a  thousand  ways  recommend 
it  to  universal  acceptance.  Such  are  the  subjects 
to  which  the  instructions  of  Christ  the  Prophet  re- 
late. 

And  what  do  those  instructions  embrace  ?  Spread- 
ing from  the  particular  to  the  general,  they  embrace 
the  relative  duties  of  kings  and  subjects,  magistrates 
and  people,  masters  and  servants,  husband  and  wife, 


224  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

parents  and  children,  pastors  and  flocks.  The  learn- 
ed and  illiterate,  the  rich  and  poor,  the  old  and 
young,  are  all  addressed.  Friends,  neighbours,  and 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  are  all  instructed  in  the 
course  proper  to  be  pursued  towards  each  other. 
But  as  the  Spiritual  Teacher,  Christ's  doctrines  refer 
peculiarly  to  the  Church  which  he  liath  purchased 
with  his  own  blood;  hence  the  character  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  their  reciprocal  oflices  of  love;  its  discipline, 
order,  offices,  government,  responsibilities,  work,  and 
the  grand  object  for  which  it  was  instituted,  are 
most  fully  described.  The  Church  is  his,  entirely 
and  absolutely  his;  his  by  gift,  iiis  by  inheritance, 
his  by  purchase.  Hence,  he  is  its  Head,  and  Light, 
and  King,  and  Priest,  and  Prophet.  Nor  has  he 
delegated  any  of  those  offices  to  man  or  angel. 
There  are  pastors  and  teachers;  but  if  they  have 
not  been  appointed  by  him,  they  poison  the  flock, 
and  are  teachers  of  hes.  All  the  pastors  and  teach- 
ers owned  by  him  are  such,  and  such  only,  as  he 
has  appointed.  They  are  his  servants,  and  direct 
attention  only  to  his  written  instructions.  There 
are  men  called  "priests,"  but  the  name  is  an  as-- 
sumption,  and  the  office  to  which  it  relates  has  no 
place  in  the  new  dispensation;  for  the  duty  of  the 
Christian  minister  is  to  lead  the  minds  of  his  fellows 
to  the  one  sacrifice  of  Jesus,  that  which  was  offered 
at  Jerusalem ;  and  the  exalted  Redeemer  is  the  only 
Priest  in  his  Church.  And  there  are  civil  magis- 
trates who  call  themselves,  or  are  called  by  others, 
"the  head"  of  some  peculiar  section  of  tlie  Church 
legalized  in  their  respective  dominions;  but  it  is  a 
"name  of  blasphemy,"  for  the  Son  of  God  is  the  sole 


THE    HOLY    MOUNT.  225 

Head  of  the  Christian  Church;  it  is  needless  to  add, 
therefore,  that  the  Church  of  Christ  will  be  polluted, 
and  spiritually  feeble,  in  proportion  as  it  adds  to  his 
institutes  or  disregards  his  prophetic  office;  and 
that  it  will  be  pure,  vigorous,  and  successful  in  its 
appointed  work,  in  proportion  as  it  follows  his  coun- 
sels. Such  are  some  of  the  subjects  embraced  by 
the  instructions  of  Christ  the  Prophet. 

"Hear  ye  Him!"  The  voice  from  "the  excellent 
glory"  enjoined  this  precept,  as  Peter  was  proposing 
the  erection  of  the  three  tabernacles,  and  as  Moses 
and  Elias  departed  to  heaven;  may  we  not  under- 
stand it,  therefore,  as  intimating  that  the  Mosaic 
institutes,  having  served  their  purpose,  were  now 
for  ever  abolished?  That  Christ  having  come,  as 
the  Son  over  his  own  house,  the  work  of  the  ser- 
vant, whicli  was  preliminary,  was  at  an  end? 

"  The  true  Messiah  now  appears, 
The  types  are  all  withdrawn; 
So  fly  the  shadows  and  the  stars 
Before  the  rising  dawn." 

Is  not  the  idea  conveyed  by  this  coincidence  of  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  Levitical  priesthood  had  expired, 
seeing  that  the  great  sacrifice  to  which  it  had  sum- 
moned attention  for  ages  was  just  about  to  be  offered 
on  Calvary? 

"Aaron  must  lay  his  robes  away, 
His  mitre  and  his  vest, 
When  God  himself  comes  down  to  be 
The  offering  and  the  priest." 

The  old  economy  was  just  vanishing  away,  to  give 
place  to  the  new;  the  shadow,  to  the  substance;  the 


226  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

synribol,  to  the  thing  signified;  the  ritual,  to  the 
spiritual;  the  ceremonial,  to  the  simple  and  sublime 
religion  of  the  New  Testament;  and  the  local  dis- 
pensation of  Moses,  to  the  catholic  economy  of  the 
Son  of  God.  It  is  in  vain,  therefore,  to  erect  tents  for 
INIoses  and  Elias.  Their  work  was  done.  Tliey  re- 
turn to  heaven,  after  laying  down  their  commission 
at  the  feet  of  their  Master  on  the  mount  of  trans- 
figuration. Judaism  has  had  its  day;  Christianity 
arises  in  the  moral  horizon,  and  every  man  in  every 
nation  under  heaven,  is  to  be  called  to  look  on  it, 
to  believe  in  it,  and  to  be  guided  by  it.  With  the 
command  "Hear  Him!"  Moses  and  Elias  depart,  and 
as  the  sound  of  that  glorious  voice  rolls  through  the 
heavens,  Jesus  and  his  disciples  are  found  alone  on 
the  mountain,  from  which  they  are  soon  to  descend  to 
the  habitations  of  men,  the  former  as  the  Great  Pro- 
phet, the  latter  as  his  heralds  to  all  nations,  of  the 
everlasting  covenant. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES, 

PRINCIPLES    ENUNCIATED. 

The  principles  of  moral  judgment  enmiciated  by  our 
Lord,  in  his  conversations  with  men,  are  of  that 
class  which  commend  themselves  to  the  intellect  of 
every  clear  thinker.  They  are  always  applicable. 
They  are  divine  standards.  They  are  pre-eminently 
spiritual;  that  is,  they  appeal  for  their  validity  to 
man's  conscience,  and  make  no  compromise  with 
any  imaginable  theory  of  expediency.  Hence  their 
universality  as  standards.  They  were  not  enunciated 
merely  as  apposite  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
or  suitable  to  the  times  which  were  then  passing  over 
men,  or  appropriate  to  meet  the  erroneous  current 
maxims  of  that  day.  They  are  for  this  day  and  for 
all  days,  for  this  nation  and  for  all  nations.  Wc 
find  some  specimens  of  them  delivered  at  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles. 

The  origin  and  object  of  this  Jewish  feast  may  be 
found  in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  Leviticus.  Like 
all  other  Jewish  feasts,  it  had  much  moral  significance ; 
but  the  truths  delivered  by  our  Lord  on  the  occasion 
of  that  celebration  of  it  which  is  recorded  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  John's  Gospel,  claim  our  attention 
at  present. 


228  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

Previous  to  his  departure  from  Galilee  to  Jeru- 
salem, however,  in  his  reply  to  those  whose  secular 
views  induced  them  to  suggest  to  him  that  he  should 
seek  after  popularity,  we  find  him  giving  utterance 
to  one  truth  of  such  a  striking  character,  and  so  full 
of  meaning,  that  we  cannot  entirely  overlook  it. 
That  truth  was  thus  expressed:  "The  world  cannot 
hate  you;  but  me  it  hateth,  because  I  testify  of  it, 
that  the  works  thereof  are  evil."  Here  there  are 
two  principles  laid  down,  the  constant  recollection  of 
which  would  help  to  unriddle  many  of  the  seeming 
enigmas,  and  to  clear  many  of  the  seeming  mysteries 
of  Hfe.  The  first  of  these  principles  is,  that  men 
whose  views  are  bounded  by  secular  considerations, 
will  not  incur  the  dislike,  but  secure  the  approba- 
tion of  worldly  men.  They  will  be  esteemed  as  harm- 
less and  worthy  persons,  attending  to  what  the 
world  deems  the  proper  business  of  life.  Their  max- 
ims will  be  approved,  their  opinions  countersigned. 
Sailing  with  the  stream,  all  will  be  comparatively 
smooth  around  them;  and  the  train  of  flatterers  that 
follow  in  their  wake  will  increase  in  length  and 
breadth,  in  proportion  to  their  success  in  nearing  the 
haven  of  worldly  comfort  and  dignity  on  which  their 
grovelling  ambition  is  fixed.  "All  men  will  praise 
them  when  they  do  well  to  themselvesP  Let  them 
reach,  no  matter  by  what  unworthy  means,  some 
post  of  honour  and  influence,  and  the  parasites  of 
earth  will  fondly  cling  to  them.  Let  them  accumu- 
late gold,  no  matter  though  in  its  accumulation  every 
principle  of  high-minded  integrity  should  be  scattered 
to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  and  the  idolaters  of 
earth  will  shout  "Bow  the  knee!"     Their  statements 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES.  229 

will  be  applauded;  their  most  inane  outpourings 
deemed  oracles;  their  vices  will  be  innocuous;  their 
invisible  virtues,  meritorious;  their  gifts,  though 
springing  from  unmixed  selfishness,  will  be  "prince- 
ly liberality;"  their  religion,  though  detestable  hy- 
pocrisy, "eminent  goodness  of  heart!" 

The  second  principle  involved  in  this  declaration 
of  our  Lord  is,  that  the  hostility  of  the  world  will 
be  aroused  against  the  reprover  of  its  wickedness. 
This  hostility  will  be  in  the  ratio  of  his  fidelity. 
Our  Lord's  experience  furnishes  an  everlasting  proof 
of  this.  The  world  hated  him,  because  he  testified 
against  its  evil  works.  He  would  neither  palliate  its 
crimes,  nor  wink  at  its  follies;  but  with  the  power 
and  purity  of  Divine  truth  his  denunciations  flashed 
upon  the  consciences  of  its  guilty  inhabitants:  hence 
he  was  hated,  opposed,  persecuted,  and  slain.  His 
omniscient  eye  read  the  secret  mental  preferences  of 
the  worldling  and  the  hypocrite;  and  while,  with 
unerring  skill  he  went  through  the  process  of  moral 
analysis,  exposing  to  the  light  of  day  those  secrets 
which  the  worldling  and  the  hypocrite  desired  to 
hide  from  human  inspection,  he  exposed  himself  to 
the  consequences  of  their  most  deadly  malice.  This 
was  the  reward  of  his  fidelity  to  the  insulted  au- 
thority of  the  great  God.  His  office  as  the  Mediator 
of  the  new  covenant,  his  holy  character,  and  his 
ardent  love  to  the  souls  of  men,  all  required  that 
he  should  bear  testimony  against  sin ;  but  for  doing 
so  "He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter."  And 
his  ministers  have  ever  found,  that  the  measure  of 
their  faithfulness  in  dealing  with  the  human  con- 
science and  the  claims  of  eternal  truth,  has  been  the 
20 


230  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

measure  of  condemnation  which  they  have  received 
at  the  hands  of  migodly  men.  Let  them  plant  their 
foot  on  the  immutable  and  all  comprehending  author- 
ity of  the  Redeemer,  and  speak  of  heart  and  con- 
science, mind  and  motive,  as  men  whose  eye  is  on 
the  judgment  seat,  and  whose  ear  anticipates  the  blast 
of  the  last  trumpet,  and  the  worldling  and  the  for- 
malist, if  they  are  not  laid  prostrate  in  the  dust  of 
self-abhorrence  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  will  fly  from 
the  sound  of  their  voice,  and  "say  all  manner  of  evil 
against  them  falsely,"  endeavouring  to  wound  their 
reputation,  to  assassinate  their  character.  Nor  need 
they  wonder  at  such  base  treatment  from  men  for 
whose  salvation  they  yearned;  for  if  the  prototypes 
of  these  enemies  of  heart-godliness  "  called  the 
Master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more 
shall  they  call  them  of  his  household?"  Many  a 
young  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  who  has  come  forth, 
like  Melancthon,  with  his  heart  beating  with  love  to 
souls,  has  found  to  his  dismay,  that  all  his  previous 
studies  of  human  depravity  had  failed  to  give  him  a 
proper  idea  of  the  intensity  with  which  unrenewed 
men  hate  vital  godliness.  He  has  found  that  the 
more  abundantly  he  loved,  the  less  he  was  loved. 
Under  such  circumstances,  compromise  is  both  cow- 
ardice and  crime.  A  selection  must  be  made,  a  de- 
cided course  taken;  but  there  is  only  one  course 
that  can  be  taken  by  the  man  of  God,  except  he 
wishes  to  purchase  external  peace  at  the  cost  of  an 
approving  conscience,  and  that  course  is  fidelity  to 
death!  The  days  of  persecution  are  not  over.  Hea- 
ven contains  a  class  of  martyrs  whose  names  are  not 
written  in  any  martyrology  on  earth,  namely,  those 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES.  231 

faithful  ministers  of  God  who  have  been  driven  to 
madness,  or  whose  hearts  have  been  broken,  by  the 
successors  of  those  worldUngs  and  formahsts  who 
hated  Christ,  because  he  testified  that  their  works 
were  evil.  During  periods  when  tlie  Church  enjoys 
external  repose,  and  religion  becomes  somewhat 
fashionable,  these  men,  who  are  constantly  endea- 
vouring to  effect  an  impossibility,  namely,  to  serve 
God  and  mammon,  and  who  would  fly  to  the  arms 
of  the  undisguised  world  at  the  first  sound  of  per- 
secution, mingle  themselves  with  the  churches  and 
congregations  of  the  land  as  judges,  and  critics,  and 
calumniators,  and  murderers.  Nevertheless,  the  prin- 
ciple that  accounts  for  their  malice  conveys  the  Chris- 
tian minister's  duty  towards  them.  He  must  con- 
tinue to  testify  that  their  works  are  evil.  He  must 
speak  the  truth  in  love.  He  must  have  no  fellow- 
ship with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather 
reprove  them.  He  must  cry  aloud  and  spare  not, 
and  leave  results  to  God. 

Passing  onwards  with  our  Lord  from  this  conver- 
sation, which  took  place  immediately  previous  to  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  we  find  him  a  few  days  after- 
wards going  up  to  Jerusalem  and  preaching  in  the 
temple,  when  the  Jews,  amazed  at  the  extent  of 
his  literature,  and  knowing  that  he  had  never  at- 
tended any  of  their  great  schools,  said,  "  How 
knoweth  this  man  letters,  having  never  learned?" 
Jesus  replied,  "My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his 
that  sent  me.  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God,  or 
whether  I  speak  of  myself  He  that  speaketh  of 
liimself  seeketh  his  own  glory:  but  he  that  scekcth 


232  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

his  glory  that  sent  him,  the  same  is  true,  and  no 
unrighteousness  is  in  him." 

Here  are  principles  not  less  important  than  those 
to  which  we  have  adverted.  The  first  principle  thus 
enunciated  is,  that  a  resolute  determination  to  obey 
the  authority  of  God  will  lead  to  the  conviction  that 
Christianity  is  Divine.  Let  the  will  be  resolved  on 
obedience,  and  the  judgment  will  be  convinced  that 
the  instructions  of  Jesus  form  infallible  guides  to  the 
desired  end.  The  internal  evidence  on  the  heart 
and  conscience — which,  indeed,  is  the  principal  evi- 
dence accessible  to  the  majority  of  Christians — will 
prove  amply  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  understanding 
that  the  reUgion  of  Jesus  is  the  religion  of  God. 
Other  evidences  are  valuable;  this  is  most  valuable. 
Other  evidences  are  accessible;  this,  happily,  is  wo*/ 
accessible.  This,  in  short,  is  the  confirmatory  evi- 
dence, the  work  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and  without 
which  no  man,  whatever  the  amount  of  his  polemic 
skill,  or  the  extent  of  his  theoretic  knowledge,  can 
be  a  real  Christian.  The  polemic,  the  theorist,  and 
the  collector  of  external  evidences,  may  help  to 
defend  the  outposts  of  Christianity  from  the  attacks 
of  its  foes,  and  their  labours  have  been  of  incalcu- 
lable service  to  the  Church  of  the  living  God;  but 
it  is  from  the  citadel  of  Christianity,  the  elevation 
given  by  a  heartfelt  sense  of  its  divine  power,  that 
the  most  destructive  projectiles  are  thrown  against  its 
antagonists,  and  the  clearest  view  afforded  of  its  in- 
trinsic beauty  and  glory.  In  proportion,  therefore, 
to  the  number  of  scriptural  Christians,  will  be  the 
aggregate  evidence  of  its  celestial  origin. 

Another  principle  laid  down  here  is,  that  an  ab- 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES.  233 

sorbing  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  furnishes  tlie 
guarantee  of  fidelity.  This  was  the  grand  motive  in 
the  mind  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  sought  not  his  own 
glory,  but  that  of  him  who  sent  him.  As  the 
messenger  of  the  covenant,  he  was  faithful.  One  of 
the  evidences  of  his  Messiahship  lay  in  his  absolute 
devotedness  to  the  will  and  work  of  God.  This, 
with  him,  was  not  means  to  an  end,  but  the  end  of 
the  means.  Hence  he  could  say,  "Father,  I  have 
glorified  thee  on  the  earth,  I  have  finished  the  work 
which  thou  gavest  me  to  do."  But  where  there  is 
room  to  suspect,  on  sufficient  proof,  that  the  selfish 
motive  takes  precedence  of  the  ostensible,  in  the 
case  of  any  advocate  of  truth,  his  power  to  do  good 
will  be  neutrahzed.  The  same  principles  that  apply 
to  Jesus  as  a  Teacher  sent  from  God,  apply  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places,  to  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
The  glory  of  God  is  the  ultimate  end  of  all  truth; 
Christianity  is  the  highest  manifestation  of  truth; 
the.  results  of  Christianity,  therefore,  declare  most 
conspicuously  the  glory  of  God.  And  the  teacher 
of  Christianity,  whatever  may  be  the  extent  of  his 
privations,  occasioned  by  the  ingratitude  of  the  pious, 
or  the  amount  of  his  mental  sufferings,  caused  by 
the  malice  of  the  worldly,  has  before  him,  as  the 
object  of  his  work  and  the  end  of  his  being — the 
glory  of  his  God  and  Saviour.  This  is  the  goal  of 
his  race,  the  final  purpose  of  his  existence.  This 
contains  a  power  to  sustain,  to  animate,  to  encourage, 
the  strength  of  which  can  be  known  only  by  personal 
test.  Those  only  who  have  given  themselves,  as 
living  sacrifices,  soul  body,  and  spirit,  to  the  work 
of  Christ,   and  who    have   had   to  fight    their  way 

20* 


234  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

through  ranks  of  poisoned  spears,  can  understand 
the  consolation  thus  derived.  The  glory  of  God  in 
the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  and  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners, is  the  highest  object  on  which  any  human 
being  can  fix  his  heart;  and  when  this  object  is 
pursued,  through  evil  report  and  through  good  report, 
in  constant  dependence  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  man 
who  is  thus  engaged  will  not  be  left  destitute,  during 
his  labour,  of  great  consolation,  nor,  when  his  labour 
ceases,  will  he  miss  the  crown. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE      SAMARITAN     VILLAGE, 

IGNOHANT    ZEAL   REBUKED. 

The  time  was  now  drawing  near  when  the  work  of 
the  Messiah,  on  earth,  should  be  finished  amidst 
scenes  of  ignominy  and  glory,  such  as  never  com- 
bined before,  and  such  as  never  will  combine  again 
in  this  world.  Incessantly  preaching,  or  delivering 
parables,  or  giving  private  instructions  to  his  dis- 
ciples, or  working  miracles,  Jesus  compressed  into 
a  brief  period  of  human  life  an  amount  of  labour, 
which  is  itself  none  of  the  least  remarkable  of  the 
■wonderful  characteristics  of  his  life  on  earth.  But 
now  the  end  was  rapidly  approaching.  "And  it 
came  to  pass,"  says  Luke,  "when  the  time  was  come 
that  he  should  be  received  up,  he  steadfastly  set 
his  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  sent  messengers 
before  his  face;  and  they  went  and  entered  into  a 
village  of  the  Samaritans,  to  make  ready  for  him. 
And  they  did  not  receive  him,  because  his  face  was 
as  though  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem.  And  when 
his  disciples,  James  and  John,  saw  this,  they  said, 
Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come  down 
from  heaven,  and  consume  them,  even  as  Elias  did? 
But  he  turned  and  rebuked  them,  and  said.  Ye  know 
not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of.     For  the  Son 


236  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

of  Man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to 
save  them. 

The  thoughts  that  rush  into  the  mind  on  the 
perusal  of  such  a  passage  as  this  are  so  varied  and 
numerous,  that  selection  becomes  a  real  difficulty. 
Ignorant  zeal,  with  all  its  calamitous  consequences; 
ecclesiastical  history,  with  all  its  sanguinary  associa- 
tions; the  old  economy,  with  all  its  awful  visible 
judgments;  Christianity,  with  all  its  mild  concomi- 
tants; Jesus,  with  all  his  gracious  lessons;  and  man, 
even  at  his  best  estate,  with  all  his  attendant  follies; 
rise  up  before  us,  and  pass  around  the  mind  like  a 
panoramic  view  of  the  most  dissimilar  colours.  Nor 
is  this  all;  for  whilst  we  bow  with  reverence  to  that 
holy  wisdom  which  directed  the  visible  judgments 
of  the  preceding  economy,  and  try  to  conceal  from 
memory  the  pages  of  Church  history — which  we 
cannot  open  without  imagining  them  red  with  human 
blood — we  make  the  effort  to  draw  a  mental  picture 
of  the  probable  state  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  of 
the  world  at  large,  at  this  moment,  if  the  rebuke 
given  by  Jesus  to  his  hasty  disciples  had  been 
always  remembered,  and  if  the  reason  he  assigned 
for  non-compliance  with  their  rash  request  had  been 
always  acted  on  by  his  professed  followers.  We 
try  to  imagine  this  picture,  and,  when  the  outlines 
have  come  before  the  mental  vision,  we  feel  as  if 
suddenly  caught  up  to  mid-air,  to  look  down  on  the 
outspread  glories  of  the  millennial  era,  the  world's 
jubilee,  creation's  rest.  We  see  no  denominational 
strife,  no  sectional  jealousies,  no  Sabbath  desecrations. 
Over  the  wide  earth,  no  temple  of  idolatry  lifts  its 
impious  towers  amidst  the  light  of  heaven's  sun;  no 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  237 

missionary,  forsaking  the  homes  of  his  ancestors  to 
gather  souls  to  Jesus,  reasons  with  the  devotee  of 
gods  of  stone;  no  httle  band  of  Christians  seek 
among  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  an  asylum  from 
the  wilder  cruelty  of  their  fellow-men;  no  hordes  of 
barbarians  roam  the  trackless  deserts  of  the  east; 
no  slave-ciu'se  enters  the  writhing  conscience  of  his 
tyrant  brother-man;  no  groups  of  youths  are  trained 
to  scientific  murder  on  the  field  of  battle ;  and  no 
sign  of  war  appears  across  the  smihng  and  fruitful 
earth:  all  is  peace,  all  prosperity;  everywhere  the 
evidences  of  ardent  piety  meet  the  eye,  and  the  gar- 
den of  Eden  is  co-extensive  with  the  habitations  of 
men.  But  alas!  it  was  but  a  momentary  vision:  the 
eye  opens  on  the  sad  reality  of  a  Church  broken  into 
hostile  fragments,  with  seven-eighths  of  the  world's 
population  under  the  tyrannic  sway  of  the  prince  of 
darkness!  And,  remembering  that  nearly  eighteen 
centuries  and  a  half  of  lime's  years  have  rolled  be- 
neath these  heavens  since  the  Son  of  God  died  the 
death  of  a  Roman  slave  on  the  hill  of  Calvary,  we 
cannot  help  a  feeling  of  sadness !  How,  wherefore,  is 
this  so?  But,  No!  We  ^^live  by  faith  P  We  must 
live  by  faith.  "  A  short  work  will  the  Lord"  yet 
"  make  upon  the  earth." 

It  appears  to  us  that  the  design  of  Christ's  mission 
is  the  prominent  fact  in  the  paragraph  just  quoted 
from  Luke.  The  Son  of  Man  came  to  save.  And 
that  the  Saviour  mentioned  this  to  indicate  the  spirit 
which  ought  to  distinguish  his  servants  in  their 
eftbrts  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  his  salvation,  is 
obvious.  That  spirit  ought  to  manifest  itself  in 
2)osilive  exertion  for  tliis  purpose,  and  in  abstaining 


238  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

from  the  employment  of  any  means  to  accomplish 
their  object,  different  from  those  sanctioned  by  the 
example  of  Christ,  and  the  genius  of  the  gospel. 

With  the  constitution  and  working  of  any  society 
formed  for  the  pm'pose  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
lands  of  heathenism,  it  is  not  our  province  to  meddle; 
but  the  principle  of  diffusion  commends  itself  to  all 
who  feel  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  active  obedience,  and 
who  lament  over  the  ignorance  and  guilt  of  those 
who  have  not  heard  of  the  love  of  God,  as  manifest- 
ed by  the  gift  of  his  Son.  That  it  is  the  duty  of 
Christians  to  instruct  their  fellow-men  in  the  truths 
of  the  gospel,  is  placed  beyond  dispute  in  the  judg- 
ment of  those  who  have  read  the  word  of  the  Lord 
with  any  degree  of  attention;  and,  indeed,  no  en- 
Hghtened  Christian  can  take  counsel  with  his  own 
heart,  without  finding  there  a  response  to  those  di- 
vine precepts  which  enjoin  effort  for  this  purpose. 
Christ  came  to  save.  He  has  commanded  the  plan 
by  which  he  reveals  this  purpose  to  be  committed  to 
writing.  That  plan,  in  consequence  of  this  declared 
purpose,  is  named  the  Gospel.  This  gospel  is  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  his  followers.  They  are  laid 
under  the  most  solemn  obligations  to  make  it  known 
to  every  creature  under  heaven,  and  its  benevolence- 
inspiring  effects  on  their  own  minds,  are  in  per- 
fect keeping  with  those  injunctions.  They  dare  not 
conceal  it  if  they  could,  they  cannot,  if  they  might. 
It  creates  those  principles  of  active  love,  the  ex- 
istence of  which  it  assumes,  when  the  precept  to 
preach  it  is  issued.  It  commands  the  manifestation 
of  gratitude  by  activity  in  diffusing  it,  and  it  creates 
that  gratitude  which  is  necessary  to  render  obedience 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  239 

pleasurable.  Nothing  but  the  most  criminal  igno- 
rance of  the  Divine  arrangements  can  refuse  to  com- 
ply with  the  request;  but  when  that  refusal  attempts 
to  justify  itself  by  an  appeal  to  the  Divine  sove- 
reignty, the  excuse  is  so  unreasonable,  that,  were  it 
not  for  the  solemnity  of  the  interests  involved,  it 
would  appear  to  approach  the  ludicrous.  The  sove- 
reignty of  God,  the  proofs  of  which  lie  at  the  foun- 
dation of  all  religion,  natural  and  revealed,  and  per- 
vade all  worlds  and  all  minds,  and  to  deny  which, 
therefore,  is  almost  to  deny  an  intuitive  preception, 
is  just  the  reason  which  takes  precedence  of  all  others, 
why  the  design  of  Christ's  mission  should  be  univer- 
sally published,  why  the  gospel  should  be  preached 
to  every  creature.  He  has  commanded  it,  and  he 
is  a  Sovereign.  Hence,  had  there  been  no  reason 
assigned,  or  no  promise  of  success  attached,  to  en- 
deavour to  spread  the  knowledge  of  Christ's  salva- 
tion would  still  remain  an  imperative  duty,  because 
his  sovereig?i  authority  renders  it  imperative. 

But  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  not  at  liberty  to 
employ  means,  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  pur- 
pose, different  from  those  sanctioned  by  the  example 
of  their  Master,  and  the  genius  of  the  system  which 
they  seek  to  promulge.  Christianity  is  not  the  re- 
sult of  military  conquest,  nor  of  royal  confederation, 
nor  of  diplomatic  policy,  nor  of  ecclesiastical  union, 
nor  of  philosophic  success,  nor  of  individual  zeal. 
As  a  system  of  divine  truth,  it  had  being  and  form 
in  the  mind  of  its  Divine  Author  from  eternity.  As 
a  revelation,  it  was  communicated  to  men  by  his 
inspired  disciples.  And  its  diffusion  through  the 
nations    has    been  effected  by  the  providence   and 


240  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

grace  of  God,  through  appropriate  instrumentality. 
But  what  is  appropriate  instrumentality?  This  ques- 
tion must  find  an  answer  in  the  character  of  its  Foun- 
der, and  in  the  nature  of  its  doctrines  and  precepts. 
It  owes  nothing  to  the  sword.  The  weapons  of  its 
warfare  are  not  carnal.  It  is  not  indebted  to  crown- 
ed heads,  at  least,  in  their  official  capacity;  and  its 
amount  of  indebtedness  to  them  for  their  individual 
devotedness  to  its  interests  is  scarcely  perceptible. 
Nor  is  it  under  obligation  to  secular  diplomacy. 
The  ambassadors  of  thrones  have  not  drawn  the 
Redeemer's  chariot.  Ecclesiastical  union,  when  ce- 
mented by  civil  law,  has  not  facilitated  the  progress 
of  Christianity;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  always 
and  everywhere  impeded  its  course.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  philosophy  has  stood  as  its  antagonist; 
and  individual  zeal,  though  it  has  done  much  to 
diifiise  Christianity,  has  often  had  its  power  for  good 
neutralized  by  manifestations  of  fanaticism,  or  by 
the  exhibition  of  a  spirit  such  as  that  rebuked  by 
Christ  in  the  passage  quoted.  Nevertheless — though 
it  were  folly  to  overlook  these  drawbacks,  for  they 
are  too  thickly  scattered  on  the  pages  of  history  to 
escape  observation — we  believe  that  zeal  for  the 
honour  of  the  Redeemer  in  the  breasts  of  his  dis- 
ciples, is  the  great  motive  power  of  exertion  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  gospel.  Ministers  who  feel  not  this, 
will  not  succeed.  Missionaries  who  feel  not  this, 
would  do  well  not  to  assume  the  missionary  cha- 
racter. Individual  Christians  who  feel  not  this, 
would  do  well  to  examine  themselves.  Churches 
which  are  not  animated  by  zeal  for  the  glory  of  their 
exalted    Head,  are   destitute  of  one  of  the   inspired 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  241 

characteristics  of  Cliristian  churches.  But  this  zeal 
must  be  in  connexion  with  knowledge.  It  must  be 
associated  with  light.  It  must  be  the  companion  of 
love.  It  must  not  call  "fire  from  heaven,  to  con- 
sume" the  rejectors  of  Christ.  Refusal  to  bow  the 
knee  to  Jesus  must  not  incur  physical  punishment  at 
the  hands  of  his  servants.  "The  wrath  of  man  work- 
eth  not  the  righteousness  of  God."  The  Head  of  the 
Church  reserves  to  himself  the  power  of  judgment, 
both  as  to  its  character  and  the  period  of  inflicting 
it.  "  Vengeance  is  mine ;  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord." 

It  may  be  said,  that  it  is  needless  to  pursue  this 
subject  further,  because  the  nature  of  the  gospel, 
and  consequently  the  agency  by  which,  and  the 
spirit  in  which,  it  ought  to  be  propagated,  are  now 
generally  understood.  Gratitude  to  God  for  the 
amount  of  truth  conveyed  by  this  opinion  is  both 
a  duty  and  a  pleasure;  but  alas!  this  opinion  is  not 
one  to  which  we  can  ureservedly  subscribe.  No 
Christian  ought  to  remain  indifferent  to  what  is 
transpiring,  even  in  enlightened  England,  at  this 
hour.  We  fear  there  are  professed  disciples  of  the 
holy  and  merciful  Messiah,  who  would  take  the 
sword  to  punish,  or,  if  they  possessed  the  power, 
would  call  fire  from  heaven  to  consume,  not  those 
who  refuse  to  receive  Christ,  but  actually  those  who 
refuse  to  receive  their  favourite  system  of  doctrine. 
If  these  fears  be  well  founded,  necessity  is  laid  upon 
us  to  repeat  the  question,  what  is  the  appropriate 
instrumentality  for  promulgating  Christianity? 

What  was  the  practice  of  its  Founder?  What 
example  has  he  left  for  imitation?    Surely  it  cannot 

2\ 


242  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

be  said  that  this  mode  of  putting  the  case  is  irrele- 
vant. It  appears  to  us  the  only  legitimate  test  of 
exertion  for  the  purpose  in  question.  His  practice, 
then,  was  to  preach  the  pure  truths  of  his  own  re- 
ligion, appealing  to  the  authority  of  God  over  his 
creatures  as  the  grand  reason  why  those  truths 
should  be  cordially  received.  He  represented  the 
state  of  man  as  a  fallen  and  sinful,  but  still  intelli- 
gent and  accountable,  being.  He  directed  attention 
to  the  mode  by  which  God,  in  infinite  love,  proposed 
to  save  man  from  the  consequences  of  transgression, 
and  from  the  corrupt  workings  of  his  own  evil  heart. 
He  dealt  with  mind  as  a  power  capable  of  apprecia- 
ting the  force  of  reason,  and  of  feeling  the  power  of 
motives.  He  represented,  by  apt  similitudes,  the 
natural  connexion  between  certain  lines  of  conduct 
and  their  consequences.  The  well-spring  of  com- 
passion and  mercy  in  his  heart  gushed  forth  on 
those  for  whose  happiness  he  was  solicitous.  It  is 
essential  that  accountable  beings  consent  to  proposi- 
tions involving  moral  consequences — that  they  volun- 
tarily embrace  truth — that  they  receive  it  with  the 
heart — that  they  be  willing  to  live  imder  its  influence, 
and  to  walk  by  its  direction,  otherwise  there  can  be 
no  conversion  from  sin  to  holiness,  from  rebellion  to 
obedience;  hence  Jesus  used  arguments  to  win  men 
to  himself,  not  by  force,  not  by  constraint,  not  by 
the  terror  of  carnal  weapons;  for  these,  though  they 
may  succeed  in  inspiring  fear  and  in  promoting 
feigned  obedience,  utterly  destroy  the  idea  of  mental 
consent  on  the  part  of  the  creature;  but  as  feigned 
obedience  is  no  obedience  at  all,  and  as  Jesus  sought 
the  heart,  its  consent,  its  response  to  his  doctrines, 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  243 

its  love,  so  he  uniformly  rejected  the  most  remote 
approach  to  compulsion,  and  presented  such  facts 
before  the  understanding  as  were  fitted  to  secure  its 
adliesion  to  himself.  He  injured  no  man  in  person, 
property,  or  character,  for  non-compliance  with  his 
invitations.  The  very  idea  of  a  revelation  of  truth, 
intended  to  influence  intelligent,  and  therefore  res- 
ponsible beings,  implies  that  its  object  cannot  be 
gained  unless  those  beings  receive  it  as  such,  that  is, 
believe  it,  assent  to  it,  credit  it.  And  it  is  remark- 
able that  Jesus,  after  stating,  on  one  occasion,  that 
the  worldly  ambition  of  his  hearers  prevented  the 
exercise  of  this  faith,  immediately  added,  "Do  not 
think  that  I  will  accuse  you  to  the  Father."  Not 
even  to  this  extent  would  he  go;  not  that  he  had 
not  the  power,  for  the  power  to  accuse  is  implied  in 
the  declaration  that  it  should  not  be  used;  but  even 
this  approach  to  the  argument  from  fear  he  would 
not  make.  Sometime  afterward  he  added,  "  I  am 
come  a  hght  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  me  should  not  abide  in  darkness.  And  if  any 
man  hear  my  words,  and  believe  not,  I  judge  him 
not:  for  I  came  not  to  judge  the  world,  but  to  save 
the  world.  He  that  reject eth  me,  and  receiveth  not 
my  words,  hath  one  that  judgeth  him:  the  word  that 
I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last 
day."  These  passages  are  specimens  of  others  which 
might  be  cited  to  prove  the  correctness  of  what  we 
have  just  written.  No  punishment,  no  accusation, 
no  judgment,  at  present,  for  rejecting  Christ:  the 
consequences  of  unbelief  are  referred  to  the  great 
day.  But,  it  may  be  asked  in  passing,  does  not 
this  view  of  the  case  invest  with  awful  solemnity 


244  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

the  responsibility  of  man?  It  does.  It  seems  to 
suggest,  that  to  punish  the  rejecter  of  Jesus  in  his 
body  or  in  his  property,  whilst  it  would  not  accord 
Avith  the  character  of  that  gracious  economy  which 
seeks  to  soften  the  heart  by  its  overflowing  mercy, 
would  fall  far  short  of  the  degree  of  punishment 
which  such  rejection  deserves.  Love  rejected,  mercy 
despised,  kindness  insulted,  truth  trampled  on,  ar- 
guments scorned,  are  crimes  too  great  for  any  tem- 
porary infliction;  they  "treasure  up  wrath  against 
the  day  of  ivrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God."  But  this  is  "  the  day  of  salva- 
tion," and  God  who  offers  it  will  have  it  offered  in  a 
manner  consistent  with  itself,  and  with  the  account- 
able state  of  men. 

With  this,  of  course,  the  instructions  given  by 
Christ  to  his  first  ministers,  and  the  genius  of  the 
gospel,  as  we  find  it  subsequently  illustrated  by 
apostolic  doctrine,  perfectly  correspond.  We  say, 
of  course,  for  the  character  of  the  Founder  is  the 
character  of  the  system.  The  mercy  that  pervades 
it,  is  his  mercy;  the  love  that  permeates  it,  is  his 
love:  hence,  sending  out  his  first  mhiisters,  what 
said  he?  "As  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the 
lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out  devils ;  freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give.  And  whosoever  shall  not  re- 
ceive you,  nor  hear  your  words,  when  ye  depart 
out  of  that  house  or  city,  shake  off  the  dust  of  your 
feet  for  a  testimony  against  them.  Verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than 
for  that  city."     That  is,  they  were  to  do  good,  and 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  245 

only  good,  in  harmony  with  the  genius  of  their  doc- 
trines, and  to  refer  the  conduct  of  those  who  refused 
to  hear  them  to  "the  day  of  judgment."  Jesus  pos- 
sessed power  to  destroy  his  enemies,  but  he  used 
it  not;  and  he  could  have  empowered  his  messen- 
gers to  scatter  destruction  among  those  who  refused 
to  hear  them,  but  he  did  it  not.  Why?  His  answer 
is,  "The  Son  of  Man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's 
lives,  but  to  save  them."  And  as  the  Jews  were  in 
the  habit,  when  returning  from  any  foreign  country, 
to  stop  at  its  borders,  and  wipe  the  dust  of  it  from 
their  sandals,  that  the  Holy  Land  might  not  be  pol- 
luted by  it,  so  Jesus  instructed  his  disciples  by  a 
similar  action  to  intimate  to  those  Jews  who  rejected 
the  doctrine  of  Messiah,  that  they  were  to  be  re- 
garded, in  consequence  of  that  rejection,  not  as  the 
people  of  God,  but  as  heathens  or  idolaters,  and 
this  action  was  to  be  recorded  as  a  testimony  for 
the  day  of  judgment.  How  solemn  is  all  this!  How 
perfectly  in  harmony  with  the  merciful  and  long- 
suffering  character  of  Christianity!  And  how  im- 
pressive is  the  idea  which  it  gives  of  "  that  day" 
of  final  settlement,  when  the  conduct  of  accountable 
beings  shall  find  its  appropriate  consequence  in  joy 
or  woe ! 

The  apostolic  letters  also,  which  amplify  and  illus- 
trate the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  point  out  its  ge- 
nius, and  show  the  instrumentality,  by  which  it  is  to 
be  diff'used  through  the  world.  That  it  is  a  system 
of  grace  is  prominent  on  every  paragraph  of  every 
letter  written  by  the  apostles  of  Jesus.  Regarding 
this  fact  there  is  no  hesitation,  no  mystery:  all  is 
clear  as  simlight  on  this  subject.    That  men  should 

21* 


246  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

be  compelled  by  external  force  to  assume  the  Chris- 
tian profession,  or  subjected  to  bodily  suffering  for 
refusing  to  assume  that  profession,  is  an  idea  which 
the  apostles  would  have  rejected  with  indignation, 
had  it  been  suggested  to  them.  Of  course,  those  mi- 
raculous punishments  with  which  daring  hypocrites 
and  obstinate  offenders  were  visited  form  no  objec- 
tion to  this  representation,  from  the  simple  fact  that 
they  were  miraculous,  and  therefore  were  never  in- 
tended to  form  a  precedent  for  the  use  of  punish- 
ments by  those  who  are  destitute  of  the  power  to 
work  miracles.  The  sudden  deaths  of  Ananias  and 
Sapphira,  and  the  blindness  of  the  sorcerer,  Elymas, 
are  not  to  be  placed  in  opposition  to  an  argument 
founded  on  the  nature  of  Christianity:  and  those 
who  would  put  heretics  to  torture  or  death,  because 
those  who  "lied  to  the  Holy  Ghost"  fell  down  dead, 
or  because  "the  child  of  the  devil"  was  smitten  with 
blindness,  are  guilty  not  only  of  the  folly  of  taking 
an  exception  as  a  rule,  and  opposing  the  whole  spirit 
of  the  new  economy,  but  they  are  also  guilty  of  the 
fearful  crime  of  usurping  a  Divine  prerogative.  But 
even  the  case  of  these  persons  cannot  be  pressed 
into  the  service  of  those  who  would  wield  the  civil 
power  agahist  either  the  friends  or  foes  of  the  gospel, 
for  neither  of  them  was  touched  by  any  human  hand. 
Peter  put  some  questions  first  to  Ananias  and  then 
to  his  wife  Sapphira,  both  of  whom  fell  down  dead 
at  his  feet;  and  the  temporary  bhndness  of  the  sor- 
cerer was  also  from  "the  hand  of  the  Lord."  How 
different  this  from  the  rivers  of  human  blood  that 
have  been  shed  by  Rome  and  England,  in  the  name 
of  religion!     Every  man  put  to  death  by  ecclcsias- 


THE    SAMARITAN   VILLAGE.  247 

tical  authority,  whether  he  believed  in  or  rejected 
Jesus  Christ,  has  been  murdered;  and  the  zeal  that 
sought  thus  to  spread  Christianity  was  not  merely 
ignorant,  but  impious.  Guilty  of  the  highest  offence 
against  the  Majesty  of  Heaven,  its  history  stands  as 
a  terrible  warning  to  all  future  ages,  to  beware  of 
introducing  the  sword  of  the  civil  magistrate  as  a 
weapon  of  the  sanctuary.  But  in  reality  it  is  utterly 
IMPOSSIBLE  to  propagate  Christianity  by  civil  en- 
actments, and  pains  and  penalties,  and  fire  and  sword. 
The  genius  of  Christianity,  and  the  constitution  of 
the  human  mind,  vX\^q proclaim  this  impossibility.  It 
never  has  been  done;  it  never  can  be  done.  It  is 
as  impossible,  by  such  means,  to  promote  the  religion 
of  Jesus,  as  it  is  to  promote  health  by  a  dungeon,  or 
happiness  by  privation.  The  coffers  of  anti-christ 
may  have  been  replenished  by  the  fiend-work  of  the 
Inquisition;  but  the  gold  so  procured  was  not  the 
Lord's.  The  ecclesiastical  state  of  Rome,  or  of 
England,  may  have  been  extended  for  a  time  by  the 
system  of  pains  and  penalties;  but  an  ecclesiastical 
state  and  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  are  7iot  the  same 
institutions.  They  are  essentially  distinct.  They 
cannot  be  confounded  with  each  other  in  any  coun- 
try where  the  New  Testament  circulates  among  the 
population.  When  this  book  escaped  from  prison, 
the  doom  of  Rome  thundered  throughout  Europe. 
When  the  principles  of  this  book  are  fully  recognised 
by  the  nations  of  the  continent,  and  by  these  islands 
of  the  sea,  the  last  advocate  of  a  legal  union  between 
the  secular  and  the  spiritual  will  throw  away  his 
pen;  the  Bible  and  the  sword  will  part  company  for 
ever:    and  all   Christians  will  look  into  their  own 


248  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

breasts,  and  examine  "what  manner   of  spirit  they 
are  of." 

Appropriate  instrumentality,  then,  is  that  which  is 
animated  by  zeal  for  the  honour  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  which  is  regulated  in  its  exertions  to  promote 
that  honour  by  his  example,  and  the  principles  of 
his  merciful  religion.  New  Testament  Christians 
are  the  only  proper  promoters  of  New  Testament 
Christianity.  Spiritual  truth  must  be  diffused  by 
spiritual  men,  from  spiritual  motives.  Divine  veri- 
ties do  not  ask  the  aid  of  secular  enactments  for  their 
propagation  over  the  earth.  The  truth  that  saves 
will  not  be  indebted  to  the  instruments  of  death:  but 
men  alive  from  the  dead,  and  enlightened  from  on 
high,  and  filled  with  the  Spirit,  and  yearning  for 
the  salvation  of  souls,  are  expected  to  undertake  this 
glorious  service.  To  them  Christ  looks  as  his  wit- 
nesses. To  them  the  churches  of  the  saints  look  as 
their  messengers  to  every  tribe  of  mankind.  Where- 
ever  humanity  casts  its  shadow,  wherever  sinners 
breathe  the  atmosphere  of  heaven,  wherever  igno- 
rance binds  mind  in  its  cruel  chain,  and  wherever 
sin  has  cursed  the  immortal  spirit,  there  such  men 
must  travel.  They  must  penetrate  every  region  of 
the  wide  earth,  with  no  sword  but  that  of  the  Spirit, 
no  ^^Jire'^  but  that  of  love,  no  authority  but  that  of 
Christ,  and  no  aim  but  his  glory  in  the  regeneration 
and  conversion  of  sinners.  "  The  word  of  God  only, 
the  grace  of  Christ  only,  and  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
ONLY,"  as  the  eloquent  historian  of  "the  Reforma- 
tion in  the  sixteenth  century"  has  it,  must  be  their 
argument,  their  dependence,  their  power.  And  the 
same  spirit  which  animates  them,  must  prompt  the 


THE    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE.  249 

churches  of  Christ  which  send  them  out.  Those 
churches  must  consecrate  their  gold,  not  merely  with 
liberality,  but  with  joy,  to  the  service  of  their  Di- 
vine Sovereign.  "  Then  shall  the  earth  yield  her 
increase,  and  God,  even  our  own  God,  shall  bless 
us;  God  shall  bless  us;  and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  fear  him;"  and  then,  also,  shall  "the  wilder- 
ness become  a  fruitful  field,"  the  wielder  of  the 
sword  shall  retire  from  the  bosom  of  the  Church, 
and  the  Redeemer  shall  no  more  have  to  rebuke 
ignorant  zeal. 

"How  fair  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  tlicn! 
How  gloriously  from  Zion  Hill  she  looked! 
Clothed  with  the  sun,  and  in  her  train  the  moon, 
And  on  her  head  a  coronet  of  stars, 
And  girdling  round  her  waist,  with  heavenly  grace. 
The  bow  of  Mercy  bright;  and  in  her  hand 
Immanuel's  cross,  her  sceptre,  and  her  hope." 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


THE    SANHEDRIM. 


THE    CONSPIHACT. 


Death  had  entered  a  happy  domestic  circle  in  the 
village  of  Bethany.  Two  pious  and  affectionate 
sisters  were  bereaved  of  a  brother  whom  they  loved 
and  honoured.  The  stroke  was  deeply  felt.  Friends 
and  neighbours  did  what  they  could  to  console  the 
weeping  sisters;  human  sympathy  exerted  its  gentle 
influence  to  alleviate  the  grief  of  Martha  and  Mary; 
but  their  minds  were  fixed  on  Jesus;  both  were  of 
opinion  that  if  he  had  been  at  Bethany  during  the 
illness  of  Lazarus,  their  brother  would  not  have 
died.  They  believed  that  he  Iiad  the  power  to  pre- 
vent death.  Their  faith  was  memorably  rewarded. 
The  Prince  of  Life  visited  the  cave  where  the  body 
of  the  dead  man  lay;  desired  the  stone  to  be  re- 
moved from  it,  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  and 
gave  thanks  to  his  Father,  and  then  "cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come  forth!"  The  dead 
heard  that  omnipotent  voice,  and  the  summons  was 
instantly  obeyed.  This  sublime  miracle  removed  all 
doubt  regarding  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  from  the 
minds  of  many  of  the  Jews  present;  but  there  were 
some  amongst  them  who  appear  to  have  been 
prompted  by  the  unreasonable  and  criminal  resolu- 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  251 

tion  to  submit  to  no  evidence,  however  complete,  to 
acquiesce  in  no  proof,  however  perfect,  of  a  propo- 
sition which  miUtated  against  the  reaHzation  of  their 
carnal  and  ambitious  views;  consequently,  hasting 
to  Jerusalem,  they  visited  some  of  the  principal 
Pharisees,  and  laid  before  them  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Lazarus. 
These  parties,  excited  by  the  information  of  this  glo- 
rious miracle,  in  consequence  of  which  many  influ- 
ential Jews  had  become  disciples  of  the  despised 
Nazarene,  felt  that  the  time  had  come,  not  to  cast 
themselves  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  faith  and  adoration, 
but  to  take  some  decisive  steps  to  put  an  end  to  his 
growing  popularity;  hence,  in  concert  with  the  chief 
priests,  they  convened  a  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
or  great  council  of  the  Jewish  nation,  to  discuss  the 
question,  "What  do  we?  for  this  man  doeth  many 
miracles."  Reason  would  have  suggested  that  the 
council  should  have  unanimously  responded  to  this 
question,  by  passing  a  resolution  declaratory  of  their 
guilt  in  so  long  continuing  hostile  to  the  claims  of 
Jesus  as  the  long-expected  Messiah,  and  that  hence- 
forth they  should  surrender  themselves  entirely  to 
his  instructions  and  authority.  But  instead  of  this, 
urged  forward  by  writhing  jealousy  and  deadly 
malice,  they  agreed,  with  one  honourable  exception, 
that  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  to  put  Jesus  to  death. 
"If  we  let  him  thus  alone,"  said  some  of  them,  "all 
men  will  believe  on  him;  and  the  Romans  shall  come 
and  take  away  both  our  place  and  nation."  To 
this  it  might  have  been  replied,  that  their  "place," 
or  temple,  for  which  they  professed  so  much  attach- 
ment and  reverence,  was  valuable  only  so  far  as  the 


252  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

design  for  which  it  was  erected,  namely,  the  worship 
of  the  God  of  Abraham,  was  reahzed ;  but  as  it  had 
become  "a  house  of  merchandise,"  the  scene  of  hy- 
pocrisy, and  "a  den  of  thieves,"  they  could  expect 
nothing  else  than  its  destruction  by  that  God  whom 
they  falsely  pretended  to  serve,  although  they  had 
made  his  commandments  of  none  effect  by  their 
traditions.  It  is  a  sure  sign  of  decay,  and  ought  to 
be  deemed  a  premonition  of  ruin,  when  the  build- 
ing, or  institution,  erected  for  the  service  of  God, 
is  valued  more  highly  than  the  object  which  it  was 
intended  to  subserve.  It  is  time  to  set  aside  any 
establishment,  not  excepting  the  divinely-planned 
temple  itself,  when  the  purposes  of  its  establishment 
are  lost  sight  of.  It  is  valuable  so  long,  and  only 
so  long,  as  it  facilitates  these.  Such  remarks  as 
these  might  have  been  justly  objected  to  their  ap- 
prehension of  danger  to  their  sacred  place.  And 
as  to  their  "nation,"  it  was  already  a  province  of 
gigantic  Rome.  The  eagle  had  passed  over  the 
Holy  Land.  Judea  paid  tribute  to  the  city  of  seven 
hills.  Whilst  the  council  were  approvingly  listening 
to  these  shallow  arguments,  which  were  intended  to 
intoxicate  their  consciences  preparatory  to  the  com- 
mission of  a  great  crime,  and  whilst  they  were  un- 
decided as  to  the  most  effectual  mode  of  procedure, 
their  most  sacred  functionary,  the  high  priest,  Caia- 
phas,  submitted  a  practical  proposition,  prefacing  it 
with  a  rebuke  to  the  Sanhedrim  for  not  acting  with 
greater  decision,  and  under  the  influence  of  still  more 
enlarged  views  of  patriotism,  than  those  which  had 
been  mentioned.  The  substance  of  his  speech  was, 
"Ye  know  nothing  at  all,  nor  consider  that  it  is  ex- 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  253 

pedient  for  us,  that  one  man  should  die  for  the  peo- 
ple, and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not,"  That 
the  death  of  Jesus  was  the  secret  wish  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  council  there  cannot  be  a  doubt;  but 
to  the  high  priest  belongs  the  infamy  of  proposing 
it.  There  is  no  hesitancy  here.  The  proposal  is 
plain,  clear,  without  ambiguity  or  contingency.  It 
was  so  worded  as  to  lead  to  the  conviction  that  its 
author  wished  to  preclude  the  necessity  of  argument, 
or  the  examination  of  any  moral  or  other  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  its  practical  accomplishment.  It  said 
in  effect  to  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrim — Where 
is  your  usual  wisdom?  Ye  do  not  appear  to  take  a 
sufficiently  comprehensive  view  of  this  matter;  it  is 
a  great  emergency;  there  is  therefore  a  pressing  ne- 
cessity for  decision,  and  for  bold  action.  Moreover, 
where  is  your  patriotism?  The  nation  and  the  temple 
of  God  are  in  danger;  the  jealousy  of  the  Romans 
will  be  aroused,  as  some  of  you  have  truly  hinted, 
and  we  shall  perish  under  the  stroke  of  their  ven- 
geance; for  if  the  populace  begin  to  take  this  man 
for  the  Messiah,  however  preposterous  the  delusion, 
they  will  proclaim  him  king;  and  as  we  have  no 
king  but  Caesar,  the  result  of  the  insurrection  will 
be  national  ruin.  Our  course  is  plain,  then;  it  is 
expedient  for  us  that  this  man  should  die  for  the 
people.  Is  he  innocent?  What  although?  It  is 
better  that  one  innocent  man  should  be  slain  than 
that  an  innocent  nation  should  perish.  "  Then," 
says  John,  "from  that  day  forth  they  took  counsel 
together  to  put  him  to  death." 

Political  expediency  was  the   argument  of  Caia- 
phas.      He   proposed   to    do   evil   that   good  might 
22 


254  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

ensue.  Jesus  was  innocent,  and  the  high  priest 
knew  it,  yet  he  suggested  that  the  emergency  re- 
qTiired  the  destruction  of  one  innocent  person  to 
prevent  the  possible  destruction  of  many  thousands; 
in  short,  he  proposed  that  Jesus  should  be  offered 
as  a  sacrifice  to  Rome,  although  Rome  demanded  no 
such  sacrifice:  all  that  she  required  was  obedience 
to  her  laws,  not  one  of  which  had  Jesus  ever  broken, 
and  not  one  of  which  would  the  followers  of  Jesus 
ever  break  as  long  as  they  attended  to  his  instruc- 
tions, except  those  laws  should  infringe  the  autho- 
rity of  God.  Then,  indeed,  their  course  would  be 
plain.  A  greater  than  Csesar  had  marked  it  out. 
"Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's, 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's."  If  the 
civil  magistrate  prohibit  divine  worship,  he  ought  to 
be  disobeyed.  If  he  command  it  in  any  form  which 
the  judgment  of  the  worshipper  cannot  find  in  ac- 
cordance with  revelation,  or  if  he  impose  conditions 
which  are  not  found  in  the  Bible,  he  ought  to  be 
disobeyed.  Or  if  he  associate  reward  with  the  per- 
formance of  certain  nominal  religious  duties,  and 
attach  penalty  to  the  neglect  of  those  duties,  neither 
the  reward  nor  the  penalty  should  be  regarded  by 
the  truly  religious  man;  for  the  civil  magistrate  has 
no  authority  from  God,  the  object  of  religious  wor- 
ship, either  to  patronise  or  to  punish  in  such  cases. 
He  is  the  transgressor,  for  he  has  crossed  the  boun- 
dary of  the  spiritual  kingdom;  but  his  subject  who 
refuses  to  recognise  his  official  right  to  legislate 
within  that  boundary,  does  by  his  refusal — always 
assuming  it  to  be  the  dictate  of  his  intellect  and  con- 
science— prove  his    regard  for    the    infinitely  higher 


THE    SANHEintlM.  255 

authority  of  God.  In  this  region  of  duty,  disobe- 
dience to  the  civil  magistrate  is  obedience  to  the 
Spiritual  Sovereign.  The  argument  of  Caiaphas, 
however,  proceeded  on  the  principal  of  political  ex- 
pediency, without  regard  to  what  was  essentially 
right,  and  proposed  to  prolong  national  repose,  al- 
though that  repose  was  the  symbol  of  slavery,  by 
the  judicial  murder  of  an  innocent  man;  a  principle, 
the  general  recognition  of  which  would  prove  fatal 
to  all  religious  and  civil  liberty,  inasmuch  as  the 
caprice  or  imaginary  interests  of  the  party  in  power, 
would  dictate  the  unbridled  exhibition  of  tyranny. 
No  man  would  be  allowed  to  propagate  his  solemn 
opinions,  either  on  religious  or  civil  questions,  and 
consequently  the  human  mind  would  prove  a  super- 
fluous creation.     Why  make  men  thinkers  at  all  ? 

But  politicians  of  the  stamp  of  Caiaphas  have  ap- 
peared in  every  age,  and  maxims  essentially  unsound, 
and  in  their  operation  extensively  ruinous,  have  been 
applauded  and  echoed  by  the  thoughtless  and  self- 
ish. Conspiracies  against  the  innocent  constitute  a 
great  portion  of  the  world's  history;  and  criminal 
eflbrts  to  purchase  or  continue  the  approbation  of 
tbe  governing  power,  at  the  expense  of  those  whose 
integrity  and  mental  independence  have  aroused  the 
envy  of  state-parasites,  are  no  uncommon  things  in 
the  records  of  time.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  difficult 
to  trace  the  persecutions  which  have  glutted  the 
earth  with  human  blood,  to  such  maxims  as  that 
which  brands  with  eternal  disgrace  the  name  of  the 
Jewish  priest. 

Caiaphas  was  the  soul  of  that  conspiracy  which 
resulted  in  the  death  of  Jesus.     "  It  was  he,"  writes 


256  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

John,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  his  narrative,  "who 
gave  counsel  to  the  Jews,  that  it  was  expedient  that 
one  man  should  die  for  the  people."  His  advice  was 
adopted,  and  acted  on,  by  his  infatuated  countrymen, 
who  thereby  brought  upon  their  "place  and  nation" 
the  very  evil  which  they  sought  to  avoid  by  their 
unparalleled  crime,  with  this  fearful  additional  in- 
gredient in  their  cup  of  calamity,  that  they  suffered 
as  the  murderers  of  the  Holy  One  of  God.  Better 
to  have  been  destroyed  whilst  an  innocent  nation, 
had  that  been  the  only  alternative,  than  to  be  pun- 
ished for  a  crime  which  it  was  impossible  to  trans- 
cend. But  this  was  not  the  only  alternative;  for 
the  whole  nation  might  have  worshipped  Jesus,  had 
they  so  chosen,  without  incurring  a  rebuke  from 
Rome,  so  long  as  they  acknowledged  her  political 
supremacy;  for  heathen  Rome  was  tolerant  of  all 
religious  opinions,  a  proof  of  wisdom  which  her 
"Christian"  successor  has  not  yet  exhibited. 

In  connexion  with  the  proposal  of  Caiaphas,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  remark  of  deep  religious  value  in- 
troduced by  the  evangelist.  Referring  to  that  pro- 
posal, John  adds,  "And  this  spake  he  not  of  him- 
self: but  being  high  priest  that  year,  he  prophesied 
that  Jesus  should  die  for  that  nation;  and  not  for  that 
nation  only,  but  that  he  also  should  gather  together 
in  one,  the  children  of  God  that  were  scattered 
abroad."  That  Caiphas  meant  to  prophesy  this,  or 
that  he  wished  any  such  construction  to  be  put  on 
his  words,  cannot  be  supposed  for  a  moment.  He 
spoke  as  a  crafty  politician,  whose  wish  it  was  to 
destroy  Jesus,  that  he  might  thus  put  an  end  to  his 
holy  doctrines,  in  whose  light  the  criminal  practices 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  257 

of  the  priests  and  Pharisees  were  daily  exposed  to 
the  gaze  of  the  muhitude.  The  fame  of  Christ  was 
wormwood  to  these  men.  The  purity  of  his  hfe 
constantly  rebuked  them;  and  the  people  could  not 
but  contrast  his  meekness  with  their  haughtiness, 
his  humility  with  their  pride,  his  disinterestedness 
with  their  covetousness,  and  his  piety  with  their 
hypocrisy;  whilst  his  stupendous  miracles  carried 
his  name  everywhere,  and  invested  that  name  with 
a  glory  unexampled  in  any  single  instance,  even  in 
the  history  of  that  wonderful  people,  the  Jews.  The 
guardians  of  the  national  religion  could  not  but  sink 
into  the  shade  in  such  circumstances;  and  not  this 
merely,  galling  as  it  was  to  their  pride,  but  they  also 
felt  that,  by  the  light  which  radiated  from  the  divine 
teachings  of  Jesus,  the  people  would  soon  detect  the 
hoUowness  of  their  professions,  and  cover  them  with 
long-merited  contempt.  This  feeling  goaded  them 
into  restlessness;  while  the  idea  that  a  homeless, 
and,  as  they  imagined,  unlettered  Nazarene,  whom 
some  of  the  populace  actually  believed  to  be  the 
Messiah,  should  be  the  cause  of  all  this,  drove  them 
to  such  an  excess  of  infatuation,  that  they  disre- 
garded all  the  evidences  of  his  claims,  and  conspired 
to  destroy  him.  Their  fatal  resolution  was,  "  We 
will  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  us;"  and  the 
defection  of  so  many  influential  citizens,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  miracle  at  Bethany,  occasioned,  as  we 
have  seen,  that  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  San- 
hedrim under  notice,  at  which  Caiaphas  proposed 
the  death  of  the  Redeemer.  He  gave,  therefore, 
only  verbal  expression  to  the  secret  malice  which 
rankled  in  his  own  breast  and  in  those  of  his  fellow- 


258  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

counsellors,  and  had  no  knowledge  that  in  speaking 
as  he  did,  he  was  giving  utterance  to  the  most  im- 
portant fact  in  the  Christian  religion,  namely,  that 
Jesus  should  die  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  that  by 
that  death  he  should  gather  into  one  all  the  children 
of  God.  "Jesus  wept"  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus. 
Wliy?  Was  it  merely  as  the  tender  friend?  or,  as 
the  sympathetic  Saviour?  or  from  a  review  of  the 
ravages  of  death?  or  all  combined?  We  doubt  not 
these  ingredients  w^ere  all  mingled  with  the  Re- 
deemer's tears;  but  we  think  that  when  "he  groan- 
ed in  the  Spirit  and  was  troubled,"  and  "wept"  at 
the  side  of  the  cave,  the  principal  cause  of  his  grief 
was  his  knowledge  that  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus 
should  occasion  the  Jewish  rulers  to  fill  up  the  mea- 
sure of  their  iniquity.  Those  tears  were  shed  not 
on  his  own  account,  but  on  that  of  those  who  should 
make  this  magnificent  miracle  a  pretext  for  doing 
that  which  should  bring  down  the  vengeance  of 
Heaven  on  the  awfully  guilty  nation. 

Nevertheless,  the  inspired  writer  assures  us,  that 
from  the  lips  of  "the  high  priest"  there  fell  a  truth 
of  prophetic  grandeur,  and  of  eternal  importance. 
Although  he  himself  was  ignorant  of  the  fact,  and, 
therefore,  not  entitled  to  the  honour  of  a  prophet, 
he  gave  judgment  on  a  point  more  important  than 
any  that  in  former  years  had  waited  the  decision  of 
his  predecessors  by  Urim  and  Thummim.  Whilst 
gratifying  his  own  criminal  desire,  the  Spirit  of  God 
spake  by  his  lips ;  an  oracle  was  put  into  his  mouth, 
he  "being  high  priest  that  year,"  which  neither 
himself,  nor  probably  and  of  his  hearers  understood 
at  the  time,  but  the  import  of  which  is  understood 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  259 

by  the  glorified  in  heaven,  and  gratefully  pondered 
by  all  believers  on  earth.  He  prophesied  that  Jesus 
should  die  for  that  nation,  and  not  for  that  nation 
only,  but  that  also  he  should  gather  together  in  one, 
the  children  of  God  that  were  scattered  abroad. 
Sublime  prophecy!  How  wonderfully  does  God 
make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him!  for  at  the 
meeting  at  which  the  death  of  Messiah  was  resolved 
on  by  a  company  of  infatuated  men,  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  a  moment,  stoops  to  enunciate  the  glorious 
result  of  that  death ! 

It  is  obvious  to  remark — not  as  a  general  rule,  for 
as  a  general  rule,  God  does  not  employ  bad  men  to 
promulge  divine  truth,  but  as  an  exception  confir- 
matory of  the  rule — that  the  doctrine  of  the  atone- 
ment made  by  Jesus,  from  the  lips  of  Caiaphas  has  a 
peculiar  value.  He,  in  effect,  pronounced  thereby 
the  abolition  of  his  oion  office,  and  summoned  atten- 
tion to  the  glorious  sacrifice  of  Christ,  whose  value 
should  for  ever  supersede  the  many  offerings  of  the 
Jewish  economy.  Without  knowing  it,  he  divested 
himself  of  all  official  dignity  ,^\\di  proclaimed  the  ter- 
mination of  the  Aaronic  priesthood.  With  the  conspi- 
racy to  destroy  Jesus  came  the  end  of  the  ritual  and 
local  system,  and  the  beginning  of  the  spiritual  and 
universal  reign  of  the  Son  of  God,  "the  High  Priest 
of  our  profession."  From  the  lips  of  Peter  or  John, 
this  truth  would  have  been  equally  important,  but 
falling  from  those  of  Caiaphas,  it  is  associated  with 
impressive  and  peculiar  facts.  On  this  principle  it 
is,  that  we  value  the  testimony  of  Judas  and  of 
Pilate  to  the  innocence  of  Jesus,  more  than  we  do 
similar  testimony  from  better  men.     We  fully  believe 


260  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

the  evidence  given  by  good  men,  because  we  know 
that  they  would  not  deceive;  but  from  such  men  as 
Judas  and  Pilate,  a  traitor  and  a  miserable  time- 
server,  to  hear  the  declaration  that  he  who  was 
"betrayed"  by  the  one,  and  "delivered  to  be  cru- 
cified" by  the  other,  was  free  from  guilt,  we  re- 
ceive the  testimony  as  an  evidence  of  the  triumph 
OP  TRUTH,  while  we  despise  the  wretched  witnesses. 
In  like  manner,  the  prophesy  of  Caiaphas,  who  hated 
Jesus,  and  proposed  his  death,  that  Jesus  should 
atone  for  sin,  and  gather  together  the  people  of 
God  by  virtue  of  that  atonement,  gives  to  the  truth 
enunciated  a  value  which  rises  in  contrast  with  the 
guilty  intentions  of  the  bad  man  who  gave  utter- 
ance to  the  prophecy.  We  receive  the  soul-anima- 
ting truth  from  the  Spirit  of  God  with  gratitude 
and  adoration,  while  we  look  on  Caiaphas  as  a 
mere  politician  of  \\{{\q  penetration  and  less  moral- 
ity, the  shifting  standard  of  whose  conduct,  even  in 
a  case  of  life  and  death,  was  state  "  expediency." 
And  the  fact  that  Caiaphas  was  ignorant  of  the 
meaning  which  God  intended  to  attach  to  his  words, 
suggests  an  impressive  lesson  regarding  the  divine 
supremacy  over  men.  His  free  agency,  and  conse- 
quent accountability,  remained  undisturbed.  He 
selected  his  own  words  to  convey  his  meaning  to 
those  who  heard  him,  and  that  was  that  Jesus  should 
be  slain  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  nation.  He 
was  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  therefore,  guilty  of 
proposing  murder.  This  was  his  proposition,  which 
he  vindicated  by  the  supposed  national  necessity,  a 
necessity  created  in  his  imagination  by  enmity  to 
Jesus;  but  while  he  selected  his  own  words  to  con- 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  261 

vey  his  own  meaning,  the  Spirit  of  God  intended  by 
them  to  convey  to  all  nations  a  higher,  a  holier,  a 
far  more  glorious  meaning,  than  the  political  repose 
of  the  Jews  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Caesars  could 
possibly  convey.  If  this  be  the  correct  interpretation 
of  the  passage,  it  affords,  we  repeat,  an  impressive 
instance  of  the  harmony  existing,  where  harmony 
has  been  often  deemed  impossible,  namely,  between 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Creator  and  the  accountabil- 
ity of  the  creature.  This  is  a  subject,  however,  on 
which  we  only  glance  in  passing,  deeming  it  called 
for  by  the  remarkable  passage  before  us.  This  view 
of  the  prophecy  of  Caiaphas,  it  is  acknowledged,  is 
somewhat  different  from  any  that  the  writer  has 
hitherto  seen,  and,  therefore,  whilst  he  thinks  it  cor- 
rect, he  submits  it  with  deference  to  the  inspection 
of  others. 

The  prophecy  itself,  apart  from  the  memorable 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  delivered,  is  in 
accordance  with  the  whole  system  of  revealed  truth. 
Jesus  died  to  save  a  ruined  world.  Not  for  the 
Jewish  nation  only,  but  for  mankind,  was  the  sacri- 
fice offered  and  the  atonement  made;  and  every  man 
in  every  nation  under  heaven,  who  cordially  receives 
the  testimony  of  God  on  this  subject,  and  believes 
with  his  heart  on  the  Redeemer,  obtains  the  un- 
speakably great  privileges  and  advantages  which  flow 
through  that  atonement.  Hence  the  apostle  says  to 
the  Ephesian  converts,  "Remember,  that  ye  being 
in  time  past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  who  are  called  un- 
circumcision  by  that  which  is  called  the  circumcision 
in  the  flesh  made  by  hands;  that  at  that  time  ye 
were  witliout  Christ,  behig  aliens  from  the  common- 


262  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

wealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  covenants 
of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
the  world:  but  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  who  some- 
times were  far  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of 
Christ.  For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both 
one,  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  par- 
tition between  us;  having  abolished  in  his  flesh  the 
enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  contained 
in  ordinances;  for  to  make  in  himself  of  twain  one 
new  man,  so  making  peace;  and  that  he  might  re- 
concile both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the  cross, 
having  slain  the  enmity  thereby;  and  came  and 
preached  peace  to  you  who  were  afar  ofl",  and  to 
them  that  were  nigh.  For  through  him  we  both 
have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father."  Again, 
he  says,  that  "in  other  ages  this  was  not  made  known 
unto  the  sons  of  men,  as  it  is  now  revealed  unto  his 
holy  apostles  and  prophets  by  the  Spirit;  that  the 
Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs,  and  of  the  same 
body,  and  partakers  of  his  promise  in  Christ  by  the 
gospel."  And  elsewhere  he  says,  that  in  the  new 
creation  "there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumci- 
sion nor  uncircumcision,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond 
nor  free:  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all."  By  faith 
in  his  atoning  blood  sinful  men  become  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  and  are  placed  in  possession  of  all 
the  holy  privileges  and  immunities  of  children.  Of 
some  of  their  privileges  Paul  speaks  thus,  after  re- 
minding the  Romans  that  Christ  was  delivered  for 
our  offences,  and  raised  again  for  our  justification: — 
"Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  by  Avhom 
also  we  have  access  by  faith  into  this  grace  wherein 


THE    SANHEDRIM.  263 

we  stand,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 
And  not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulation  also: 
knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  patience;  and  pa- 
tience, experience;  and  experience,  hope:  and  hope 
maketh  not  ashamed;  because  the  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
is  given  unto  us.  For  when  we  were  yet  without 
strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly. 
For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die:  yet 
peradventure  for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare 
to  die.  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us, 
in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for 
us.  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  b)''  his 
blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from  wrath  through  him. 
For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being 
reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life.  And  not 
only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the 
atonement."  And  these  privileges  involve  immuni- 
ties, taking  this  word  in  the  sense  of  exemption  from 
evil.  The  children  of  God  are  delivered  from  the 
curse  of  the  law; — "Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us." 
And  from  the  dominion  of  sin: — "Sin  shall  not  have 
dominion  over  you;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace."  And  from  the  power  of  dark- 
ness:— "Ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now  are 
ye  light  in  the  Lord."  And  from  spiritual  death: — 
"And  you,  being  dead  in  your  sins  and  the  uncir- 
cumcision  of  your  flesh,  hath  he  quickened  together 
with  him,  having  forgiven  you  all  trespasses;  blot- 
tin?    out    the    handwriting    of  ordinances   that  was 


264  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it  out 
of  the  way,  naiUng  it  to  his  cross."  And  from  the 
sting  of  deatli: — "The  sting  of  death  is  sin;  and 
the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But  thanks  be  to 
God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  And  they  shall  be  delivered  from 
the  influence  of  all  inward  evil: — "0  wretched  man 
that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
this  death?  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  And  from  all  Satanic  temptation: — "The 
God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your  feet 
shortly."  And  their  bodies  shall  be  delivered  from 
the  grave : — "  The  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead 
shall  be  raised  incorruptible."  Already  they  are 
delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come: — "Jesus  deliver- 
ed us  from  the  wrath  to  come."  For  already  they 
are  in  possession  of  that  life  which  shall  be  ever- 
lasting:— "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life;"  and  "Verily,  verily,"  said  he  whose 
death  was  resolved  on  by  the  Jewish  conspirators, 
"I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my  word,  and 
believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life, 
and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation;  but  is  passed 
from  death  unto  life." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


GETHSEMANE. 

THE      REDEEMER'S      AGONY, 

Gethsemane  !  What  a  multitude  of  solemn  thoughts 
press  on  the  mind  of  the  believer,  as  he  names 
the  scene  of  his  Redeemer's  agony! — an  agony, 
the  powerful  causes  of  which  are  not  revealed  in 
the  inspired  narrative  with  such  a  degree  of  clear- 
ness as  to  render  conjecture  unnecessary.  "Various 
opinions,"  consequently,  "have  been  given  of  the 
probable  causes  of  those  sorrows  of  the  Saviour. 
Some  have  thought  it  was  a  strong  shrinking  from 
the  manner  of  dying  on  the  cross,  or  from  an  ap- 
prehension of  being  forsaken  there  by  the  Father; 
others,  that  Satan  was  permitted  in  a  peculiar  manner 
to  try  him,  and  to  fill  his  mind  with  horrors,  having 
departed  from  him  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry, 
for  a  season  only,  to  renew  his  temptations  in  a  more 
dreadful  manner  now;  and  others,  that  these  suffer- 
ings were  sent  upon  him  as  the  wrath  of  God  mani- 
fested against  sin;  that  God  inflicted  them  directly 
upon  him  by  his  own  hand  to  show  his  abhorrence 
of  the  sins  of  men,  for  which  he  was  about  to  die. 
When  the  Scriptures  are  silent  about  the  cause,  it 
does  not  become  us  confidently  to  express  an  opinion. 
We  may  suppose,  perhaps,  without  presumption,  that 

23 


266  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

a  part   or  all   these    things  were    combined    to  pro- 
duce this  awful  sulfering.     There  is  no  need  of  sup- 
posing that  there  was  a  single  thing  that  produced 
it;   but  it  is  rather  probable   that   this  was  a  rush 
of  feeling  from  every   quarter.      His   situation,  his 
approaching   death,  the   temptations  of  the   enemy, 
and   the   awful  suffering  on  account  of  men's  sins, 
and  God's  hatred  of  it,  about  to  be  manifested  by 
his  own  death — all  coming  upon  his  soul  at  once — 
sorrow  flowing  in  from  every  quarter — the  concen- 
tration of  the   sufferings  of  the   atonement  pouring 
together  upon  him,  and  filHng  him  with  unspeak- 
able anguish."     Perhaps  the  intensity  of  his  mental 
anguish  arose  from  causes  which  could  not  be  ade- 
quately described,  through  the  medium  of  language, 
to  the  human  understanding,  in  its  present  enfeebled 
state  of  perception  regarding  the  deep  things  of  God, 
and  which  were  associated  with  circumstances  whose 
revelation  might  prompt  to  a  speculation  regarding 
the  nature  of  the   invisible  world,  inconsistent  with 
that    economy  which,  in    mercy   to    man,  conceals 
much  that  he  would  wish  to  know,  that  it  may  the 
more  certainly  cultivate  in  him   the   spirit  oi  faith. 
Perhaps  this  may  be  the  reason  why  the  mind,  when 
eagerly  pursuing  some  process  of  thought,  awakened 
by  Scripture,  and  when  it  finds  itself  bounding  with 
joy  at  the   prospect  of  reaching  some   hitherto   un- 
discovered  conclusion,  is  suddenly  thrown  back  on 
the  revelation  from  which  it  began  its  course,  by  the 
drawing    of   the   veil   which    conceals   the   invisible 
glories  of  the   future  world.      There  is  much  more 
revealed  than  has  been  yet  understood,  in   all   its 
bearings  and  influences,  by  any  man,  and  we  may 


GETHSEMANE.  267 

rest  satisfied  that  both  wisdom  and  mercy  suggested 
the  conceahiient  of  those  things,  concerning  which 
imagination  wearies  her  wing  in  vain,  as  the  mount 
which  she  must  ascend  to  realize  her  desires  rises  up 
too  near  the  throne  of  God  for  her  powers  while  she 
dwells  in  "this  tabernacle."  Moreover,  the  spe- 
culative tendency  of  the  human  mind,  which  is  well 
known  to  man,  and  could  not  but  be  perfectly 
known  to  God,  seldom  results  in  any  solid  advantage 
either  to  intellect  or  religion;  and  when  facts  are 
left  out  of  revelation,  for  the  knowledge  of  which  a 
desire  is  awakened,  we  may  conclude  that,  whatever 
other  reasons  there  may  have  been  for  their  con- 
cealment, a  salutary  check  is  thus  put  upon  mental 
curiosity.  The  deep  darkness  intercepts  our  path,  and 
bids  us  return  to  the  light  of  those  things  which  are 
revealed,  telling  us  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight; 
and  as  an  encouragement  to  obedience,  promising  that 
what  we  know  not  now,  we  shall  know  hereafter. 

Nevertheless,  the  Redeemer's  agony  in  the  garden 
of  Gethsemane,  can  never  cease  to  attract  the  most 
solemn  attention  of  his  followers.  Regarding  it, 
he  said  to  the  three  disciples  who  had  witnessed  the 
glories  of  the  transfiguration,  "My  soul  is  exceeding 
sorrowful,  even  unto  death."  He  experienced  de- 
jection, amazement,  and  anguish  of  spirit,  such  as 
man  never  felt.  The  cup  was  exceedingly  bitter 
which  he  was  called  to  drink.  He  prayed  three 
times  that  if  it  were  possible  it  might  pass  from  him, 
adding,  "Nevertheless,  not  what  I  will,  but  what 
thou  wilt;  "  a  prayer  which  proves  at  once  the  in- 
tensity of  his  anguish,  the  reality  of  his  manhood, 
and   his   devotedness    to   the  will  of  God   and   the 


268  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

work  of  human  redemption.  And  so  fearful  was  the 
mental  agony,  so  dreadfid  was  the  conflict,  that 
though  it  was  in  the  cool  of  the  night  and  in  the 
open  air,  the  sweat  ran  from  him  with  violence,  ac- 
companied with  blood,  forced  by  the  fearful  com- 
motion of  nature,  through  the  pores  of  his  body. 
InfideUty  has  objected  to  this,  as  it  has  done  to  many 
other  facts  in  the  wonderful  history  of  our  blessed 
Lord:  but  whilst  there  were  causes  for  his  agony 
and  bloody  sweat,  which  can  never  operate  in  the 
case  of  any  ordinary  man,  the  fact  that  intense  grief 
has  produced  a  similar  phenomenon,  in  the  case  of 
ordinary  mortals,  is  well  known.  That  arch-infidel, 
Voltaire,  has  himself  furnished  an  instance,  which  his 
admirers  must  set  aside  if  they  would  consistently 
deny  that  blood  fell  from  the  Saviour's  body  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.  Speaking  of  Charles  the 
Ninth,  of  France,  in  his  Universal  History,  Voltaire 
says,  "He  died  in  his  thirty-fifth  year;  his  disorder 
was  of  a  very  remarkable  kind;  ihe  blood  oozed  out 
of  all  his  pores.  This  malady,  of  which  there  have 
been  other  instances,  was  owing  to  either  excessive 
fear,  or  violent  agitation,  or  to  a  feverish  and  melan- 
choly temperament."  And  Doddridge  has  the  follow- 
ing on  the  same  subject:  "Dr.  Whitby  observes,  that 
Aristotle  and  Diodorus  Siculus  both  mention  bloody 
sweats  as  attending  some  extraordinary  agony  of 
mind;  and  I  find  Leti,  in  his  Life  of  Pope  Sextus 
the  Fifth,  and  Sir  John  Chardin,  in  his  History  of 
Persia,  mentioning  a  like  phenomenon;  to  which 
Dr.  Jackson  adds  another  from  Thuanus."  The 
objection,  then,  against  the  bloody  sweat  in  Gethse- 
mane, arises  from  its  connexion  witii  the  history  of  the 


GETHSEMANE.  269 

holy  Saviour.  That  "blood  oozed"  from  the  body  of 
Charles  the  Ninth,  infidelity  will  not  deny;  but  that 
it  fell  from  the  body  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  it  deems 
incredible;  and  yet  the  veracity  of  the  historian  Luke 
has  generally  been  thought  equal  to  that  of  the  his- 
torian Voltare. 

Isaiah,  foretelling  the  sufferings  of  Messiah,  says, 
"It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him;  he  hath  put 
him  to  grief"  Mark  the  scene  and  circumstances 
now,  and  behold  the  prediction  accomplished.  It 
was  night.  The  last  Passover  had  been  celebrated 
by  Christ,  and  the  eucharist  instituted  to  commemo- 
rate the  great  deliverance  effected  by  his  death. 
Judas  had  gone,  immediately  after  the  Passover,  and 
previous  to  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as 
we  beUeve,  to  keep  his  infamous  appointment  with 
the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees;  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived a  band  or  cohort  of  Roman  soldiers  with  their 
captain,  and  a  number  of  Jewish  officers,  probably 
the  servants  of  the  Sanhedrim.  These,  "  with  lan- 
terns, and  torches,  and  weapons,"  headed  by  the 
traitor,  were  approaching  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
which  was  known  to  Judas  as  a  favourite  resort  of 
Jesus.  The  rabble  of  Jerusalem  and  the  vilest  cha- 
racters of  the  provinces,  attracted  thither  for  pur- 
poses of  plunder  and  vicious  indulgence,  during  the 
excitement  caused  by  a  great  influx  of  visitors  to  the 
city  on  account  of  the  national  feast,  arrested  by  the 
sight  of  soldiers  and  officers,  bearing  lanterns  and 
torches,  though  the  full  moon  poured  her  light  on 
earth,  would  join  the  procession,  and  thus  account 
for  the  statement  of  Matthew,  that  "a  great  multi- 
tude" came  with  Judas.      Meantime  Jesus,  leaving 

23* 


270  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

his  three  disciples,  with  a  charge  to  watch  and  pray, 
removed  from  them  "about  a  stone's  cast"  to  a  more 
retired  part  of  the  garden,  and  "fell  on  the  ground 
and  prayed."  Agitated  by  extreme  anguish,  he 
returned  and  found  them  asleep.  Again  and  again 
the  charge  to  watch  and  pray  was  given;  again  and 
again  the  overwhelmed  soul  of  Messiah  was  poured 
out  before  God.  He  was  alone  in  the  awful  conflict ! 
Truly  might  he  say,  "I  have  trodden  the  winepress 
alone;  and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with  me." 
His  "hour"  had  come;  the  agents  of  the  power  of 
darkness  were  approaching  the  garden;  the  three 
disciples  were  asleep;  their  eyes  were  heavy  with 
sorrow;  they  apprehended  some  terrible  evil;  they 
feared  some  awful  crisis;  and  Jesus  was  drinking 
the  cup  of  wrath  as  the  substitute  of  sinners. 

Now,  as  the  Redeemer  knew  all  these  things  per- 
fectly;— as  the  treachery  of  his  disciple,  and  the 
malice  of  his  enemies,  and  the  claims  of  the  holy 
law  which  he  had  engaged  to  meet,  were  all  pre- 
sent to  his  mind,  and  as  the  dreadful  events  of  the 
trial  and  the  cross  were  before  him,  the  agony  of  his 
pure  mind  must  have  been  fearfully  intense.  His 
was  no  ordinary  case  of  human  woe.  His  were  no 
ordinary  snflerings.  And  his  was  no  ordinary  mind. 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  his  soul  was  sinless — that 
he  had  broken  no  law,  either  human  or  divine — 
that  perfect  obedience,  springing  from  perfect  holi- 
ness, invariably  characterized  him — that  the  accu- 
sations brought  against  him  were  all  false — that  his 
love  had  been  rewarded  with  hatred,  his  compassion, 
with  scorn;  his  mercy,  with  malignity — that  his 
miracles  had  been  attributed  to  Satanic  agency — his 


GETHSEMANE.  271 

separation  between  the  secular  and  spiritual,  to  an 
insurrectionary  motive,  and  his  claim  to  Messiah- 
ship  traced  to  the  spirit  of  blasphemy;  and  the  depth 
of  his  anguish,  though  it  can  never  be  soimded  by 
mortal,  will  appear  to  have  been  awful  in  the  ex- 
treme. It  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  power  which 
such  a  "concentration,"  as  Barnes  justly  calls  it,  of 
causes  of  woe,  must  have  exerted  on  the  soul  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  Such  a  mind  must  have  suffered  tor- 
ture which  it  was  impossible  to  describe.  Hence, 
as  we  have  said,  it  is  not  described.  There  is  no 
attempt  to  describe  it,  beyond  the  use  of  words 
which  are  very  feebly  translated  "sorrowful,"  and 
"sore  amazed."  The  words  thus  rendered  really 
mean  to  be  pierced  with  sorrow,  and  to  be  almost 
crushed  beneath  an  overwhelming  load. 

We  have  said  such  a  mind;  for  in  proportion  to 
the  degree  of  holiness  at  which  any  man  has  arrived, 
in  his  spiritual  sensibility,  and  his  grief  at  the  dis- 
honour done  to  God  by  human  wickedness.  This 
rule,  applied  to  Jesus,  will  show  that  his  abhorrence 
of  sin  must  have  been  unmingled,  and  his  sorrow 
at  the  madness  of  the  Jews,  of  the  most  penetrating 
kind,  for  his  holiness  was  perfect.  He  saw  sin  in 
its  undisguised  deformity,  and  judged  of  it  by  no 
conventional  standard,  but  by  the  claims  of  eternal 
purity,  and  the  terrific  consequences  to  which,  un- 
forgiven,  it  must  inevitably  lead.  Its  essential  vile- 
ness,  unveiled  by  any  of  those  flimsy  palliatives 
with  which  foolish  men  try  to  conceal  its  odious 
character,  lay  outspread  before  his  all-penetrating 
eye.  He  looked  upon  it  as  the  turbulent  and  lawless 
spirit   that  had  introduced   disorder,  and   woe,  and 


273  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

death,  amidst  God's  beautiful  universe — that  had  built 
a  hell  among  the  worlds  composing  that  universe 
— that  had  given  the  lie  to  his  F'ather's  beneficent 
character,  wherever  its  ravages  had  reached — and 
that  with  insatiable  malignity  was  endeavouring  to 
spread  its  baleful  influence  still  wider.  He  saw  the 
great  majority  of  the  professedly  good,  as  well  as 
all  the  openly  profane,  completely  under  its  abomi- 
nable power.  The  scribes,  the  priests,  and  the  elders, 
most  of  them,  ranked  in  his  view  with  the  publicans 
and  sinners  of  Judea;  nay,  the  guilt  of  the  former 
was  greater  than  that  of  the  latter,  for  those  had 
light,  but  it  was  despised;  knowledge,  but  it  was 
trampled  on.  He  saw  the  infatuated  city  where  his 
Father's  temple  stood,  rapidly  rushing  to  a  gulph 
of  infamy,  compared  with  which  the  degradation  of 
Sodom  is  nothing.  He  saw  in  all  the  volumes  of 
history  in  all  coming  ages  the  name  of  Jerusalem, 
the  holy  city,  associated  with  the  perpetration  of  the 
most  terrible  crime  which  could  be  committed.  He 
saw  the  children  of  the  faithful  patriarch  wanderers 
from  age  to  age  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  a 
by-word  and  a  hissing  to  every  tribe  of  men,  and 
from  generation  to  generation  refusing  to  acknowledge 
that  Messiah  whose  day  Abraham  desired  to  see. 
He  saw  that  sin  was  the  fearful  cause  of  all  this  mad- 
ness and  disaster — that  noio  the  crisis  for  which  four 
thousand  years  had  been  preparing  had  come — that 
now  the  long  pending  question,  "How  can  God  be 
just,  and  justify  the  ungodly?"  must  be  answered, 
or  given  up  as  unanswerable — that  now  the  law  of 
God  must  be  honoured  by  sacrifice,  or  permission 
given  to  it  to  blast  the  world— that  now  the  battle  of 


GETHSEMANE.  273 

the  universe  was  to  be  finally  decided,  and  that  the 
scene  of  the  inconceivable  struggle  was  his  own 
soul!  Had  he  not  been  ^Hn  an  agony ^^  he  could 
not  have  been  the  Mediator  between  God  and  men. 
To  be  insensible,  is  not  to  suffer.  To  be  indifferent 
to  sin,  is  a  proof  of  guilt.  Jesus  was  neither,  for 
he  was  the  Messiah.  His  character  has  been  tried 
through  hfe,  and  found  perfect.  Sinless,  he  had 
lived  among  sinners;  pure,  among  the  unclean;  obe- 
dient, among  rebels;  and  now  the  time  had  come 
when  HE  should  hear  the  weight  of  our  iniquities. 
For  thus  wrote  the  inspired  prophet: 

"We  all  of  us  like  sheep  have  strayed; 
We  have  turned  aside,  every  one  to  his  own  way  : 
And  Jehovah  hath  made  to  light  upon  him  tlie  iniquity 

of  us  all. 
It  was  exacted,  and  he  was  made  answerable; 

and  he  opened  not  his  mouth  : 
As  a  lamb  that  is  led  to  the  slaughter, 
And  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers 
Is  dumb ;  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth." 

It  has  long  been  our  impression  that  the  sufferings 
of  Jesus  in  Gethsemane  were  penal;  that  here,  ere 
human  hand  had  touched  him,  when  he  was  alone 
with  God,  he  began  to  suffer  the  punishment  due  to 
human  guilt,  and  to  drink  that  cup  of  woe  as  man's 
substitute,  which,  but  for  his  infinitely  merciful  in- 
terposition, would  have  been  presented  to  our  lips, 
and  the  consequence  of  which  would  have  been  too 
awful  for  the  grasp  of  imagination.  Here,  we  think, 
the  fire  began  to  descend,  which  on  the  following 
day  consumed  the  sacrifice;  and  here  the  travail  of 
the  Redeemer's  soul  was  felt. 


274  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

But,  let  us  pause.  As  we  shall  see  human  guilt 
in  action  in  the  next  chapter,  let  us  now  try  to 
view  it  in  essence.  What  is  sin?  What  it  has  doiie^ 
the  world,  the  grave,  the  Bible,  heaven,  and  hell 
testify.  But  its  essential  nature,  its  true  character, 
must  be  inferred  from  this  amazing  fact,  that  it  could 
not  be  expiated  without  the  agony  and  death  of  the 
Son  of  God.  It  may  be  called  the  antagonist  of 
God's  law,  and  its  virulence  gauged  by  the  strength 
of  its  opposition  to  that  law;  but  even  this,  though 
correct,  so  far  as  it  goes,  does  not  go  far  enough; 
for  godless  men  repeatedly  assert  that  the  law  is  too 
strict,  requires  too  much,  is  too  spiritual  and  compre- 
hensive; and  as  long  as  this  opinion  prevails,  the 
essential  evil  of  sin  will  make  little  mental  impression. 
In  proportion  as  the  law  is  deemed  rigid,  sin  will  be 
palliated.  The  impugners  of  the  statute  will  con- 
nive at  its  transgression.  The  question,  therefore, 
which  may  help  to  expose  the  inherent  criminality 
of  transgression  is.  What  is  the  law  which  so  se- 
verely condemns  it?  Is  it  arbitrary,  or  temporary, 
or  the  result  of  certain  occurrences  in  the  divine 
dominions,  such  for  instance,  as  the  introduction  of 
human  guilt?  That  is,  was  it  enacted — we  speak  of 
course  of  mora/ law — to  meet  certain  circumstances? 
and  thus,  is  the  conclusion  warranted  that  the  spirit 
of  the  law  would  have  been  difterent,  had  the  moral 
state  of  the  subjects  for  whom  it  was  intended  been 
different?  To  all  these  questions  the  answer  is  No! 
The  law  which  enjoins  holiness  and  condemns  sin  is 
the  emanation  of  the  Legislator's  unchanging  and 
unchangeable  character.  God  is  holy — at  all  times, 
everywhere,  and  eternally  holy.      So,  consequently, 


GETHSEMANE.  275 

is  his  law,  holy — at  all  times,  everywhere,  and  eter- 
nally holy.  He  cannot  sin;  his  law  therefore  can 
ask  nothing  less  than  absolute  and  constant  hohness 
in  the  hearts  and  conduct  of  his  subjects.  Sin,  there- 
fore, is  not  merely  the  transgression  of  law,  but  the 
opposite  of  infinite  purity,  the  enemy  of  God's  es- 
sential character.  The  question  is  not,  can  the  crea- 
ture obey  in  his  fallen  state?  but,  can  God  modify 
his  law  in  any  way  likely  to  weaken  the  power 
of  the  dreadful  penalty?  Impossible,  if  the  law 
emanate  from  the  character  of  the  Lawgiver,  ex- 
cept that  character  change.  Nay,  the  possibility  of 
a  relaxed  law  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  dis- 
astrous to  the  moral  universe.  The  eye  of  man  can- 
not gaze  long  on  the  meridian  sun;  would  it  bene- 
fit our  earth  to  lessen  the  intensity  of  his  brilliancy 
in  accommodation  to  human  vision?  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  very  faint  similitude;  but,  as  in  this  case, 
gloom  would  overspread  the  world,  so  in  the  former, 
mental  and  moral  night  would  scatter  dismay  every- 
where. Sin,  then,  is  the  enemy  of  God.  But,  again, 
the  law  is  the  emanation  of  the  Lawgiver's  cha- 
racter. God  is  LOVE.  Sin,  therefore,  is  not  merely 
the  transgression  of  law,  but  the  antagonist  of  love, 
the  enemy  of  God's  essential  benignity,  the  eter- 
nal opposite  of  what  he  is,  and — adored  be  his 
name! — what  he  cannot  cease  to  be.  Why  not 
relax  the  demand  of  the  law  which  requires  per- 
fect and  constant  love  to  himself  and  his  creatures? 
Because  it  is  the  transcript  of  his  unchangeable 
nature:  it  cannot  ask  partial  love  until  he  cease  to 
be  what  he  is,  and  then — woe  to  all  creation!  Sin, 
therefore,    is    essentially    hateful,  vile,    impure — in- 


276  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

tensely  and  eternally  odious.  Once  more,  the  law 
is  the  emanation  of  the  Lawgiver's  character.  God 
is  LIGHT.  Sin,  therefore,  is  not  merely  the  trans- 
gression of  law,  but  the  foe  of  God's  essential  cha- 
racter— a  thing  of  darkness,  woe,  and  death,  leading 
to  darkness,  woe,  and  death;  and  had  not  Jesus 
drunk  the  awful  cup  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
and  offered  himself  a  sacrifice  on  Calvary  to  bear 
the  curse  it  had  brought  with  it,  instead  of  man,  to 
whom  that  curse  was  due,  those  glorious  prospects 
which  now  cheer  the  believer  would  never  have  ani- 
mated a  human  spirit. 

But  does  the  atonement  of  Jesus  abrogate  the  law? 
Is  it  not  now  binding?  Is  its  authority  repealed? 
Or  may  we  safely  trifle  with  that  authority,  seeing 
we  are  saved  by  grace  ?  The  opinion  which  furnishes 
an  affirmative  answer  to  these  questions,  whether  it 
obtain  among  godless  or  among  professedly  godly 
men,  is  at  once  the  result  of  ignorance,  heresy,  and 
impiety.  The  gospel  which  enunciates  the  atone- 
ment, describes  the  efl'ect  which  a  cordial  reception 
of  its  truths  has  upon  the  heart  and  conscience  of 
the  believer.  The  sum  of  the  law  is  love;  the  sum 
of  the  gospel  is  love.  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law;  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  Christian  precepts. 
Grace  produces  that  obedience  which  the  authority 
of  law  commanded.  "  Love  God,"  is  the  behest  of 
the  latter;  "We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved 
us,"  is  the  effect  of  the  former.  "Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  is  the  injunction  of  law; 
the  influence  of  grace  upon  the  heart  responds,  "We 
know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  be- 
cause  we  love  the  brethren."      In  infinite   mercy, 


GETHSEMANE.  277 

Jesus  suffered  the  penalty  attached  to  the  breach  of 
law,  that  whosoever  believeth  m  him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life;  but  the  effect  of 
his  great  salvation  is  to  lead  to  holy  obedience.  In 
measureless  love,  he  bore  the  curse  for  man;  but 
by  doing  so  he  proclaimed,  not  that  the  law  was  too 
rigid,  or  that  it  was  in  any  way  susceptible  of  modi- 
fication, but  that  it  was  perfectly  righteous,  abso- 
lutely holy,  and  incapable  of  alteration.  Great,  be- 
yond expression  or  thought,  was  his  love  to  man; 
but — we  speak  with  reverence — it  was  not  so  great 
as  to  lead  him  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  an  over-rigid 
law.  Had  it  been  possible  to  repeal  the  law,  the 
proclamation  of  its  repeal  would  have  been  issued 
to  the  universe,  rather  than  this — "I  have  laid  help 
upon  One  that  is  mighty;"  or  this — "God  sent 
forth  his  Son,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem,  them 
that  were  under  the  law;"  or  this — "Christ  hath 
redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made 
a  curse  for  us;"  or  this — "Herein  is  love,  not  that 
we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his 
Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins;"  or  this — 
"He  was  manifested  to  take  away  our  sins,  and  in 
him  is  no  sin;"  or  this — "The  Father  sent  the 
Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world;"  or  this — "If 
any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous;  and  he  is  the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  These  wondrously 
gracious  proclamations  would  never  have  met  created 
eye,  had  the  relaxation  of  Jehovah's  claims  been  pos- 
sible. But  0,  the  depth  of  that  love  which  thought 
upon  a  substitute !    and  0,  what  ground  for  eternal 

24 


278  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

praise  that  the  idea  of  a   substitute  was  admissible 
in  the  divine  government! 

We  return  to  Gethsemane.  Judas,  preceding  the 
multitude  to  whom  he  had  given  the  sign  of  be- 
trayal, went  up  to  Jesus,  saying.  Hail  Master, 
Master!  and  kissed  him.  The  Redeemer,  "knowing 
all  things  that  should  come  upon  him,"  after  simply 
saying  to  the  perfidious  disciple,  "Friend  wherefore 
art  thou  come?  Judas,  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of 
Man  with  a  kiss?"  went  forth  to  meet  the  armed 
multitude,  and  said  to  them,  "Whom  seek  ye?" 
They  replied,  "Jesus  of  Nazareth."  Jesus  answer- 
ed, "I  am  he."  As  he  said  these  words,  they 
were  all  so  overwhelmed  by  a  secret  power,  that 
they  drew  back  and  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
as  if  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  God.  The  Re- 
deemer's object,  however,  was  neither  to  destroy 
these  impious  men,  nor  to  escape  from  their  hands, 
by  this  manifestation  of  his  Divine  power;  but 
probably  to  show  to  them  and  to  the  world,  that 
neither  betrayal  nor  force  could  drag  him  to  judg- 
ment and  death  against  his  own  will;  that  without 
his  own  consent,  no  power  could  even  seem  to  pre- 
vail against  him;  and  that,  consequently,  while  he 
surrendered  himself  into  their  hands,  if  they  led 
him  to  suffering  after  such  an  exhibition  of  the 
power  he  had  to  prevent  it,  their  guilt  would  be 
fearfully  augmented.  Repeating  the  question,  there- 
fore, and  receiving  the  same  answer,  Jesus  said,  "I 
have  told  you  that  I  am  he:  if  therefore  ye  seek 
me,  let  these  go  their  way."  Here  was  a  manifes- 
tation of  tenderness  to  his  poor  disciples,  which  it 
is  hardly  possible  sufficiently  to  admire.     Alas!  their 


GETHSEMANE.  279 

conduct  had  shown  them  utterly  unworthy  of  such 
regard.  But  m  the  midst  of  these  trying  circum- 
stances, he  requires  that  they  shall  not  be  molested, 
but  have  full  liberty  granted  them  to  retire.  The 
officers  do  not  appear  to  have  objected  to  this  pro- 
posal, probably  from  the  conviction  that  if  his  terms 
were  not  complied  with,  it  was  impossible  to  bring 
him  with  them.  However  obdurate  their  hearts, 
however  impervious  to  truth,  and  however  blind  to 
the  grandeur  of  Messiah's  character,  they  had  seen 
enough  to  convince  them,  that  to  compel  Jesus  was 
entirely  out  of  the  question.  Neither  Roman  nor 
Jewish  power  could  avail  in  this  design.  After  re- 
buking Peter  for  wounding  one  of  the  high  priest's 
servants,  and  healing  the  wound  by  a  touch,  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  bound  and  led  away  to  the 
scene  of  trial.  "Then  the  band,  and  the  captain 
and  officers  of  the  Jews  took  Jesus  and  bound  him. 
And  they  led  him  away  to  Annas  first  (for  he  was 
father-in-law  to  Caiaphas,  who  was  the  high  priest 
that  same  year.)  Now  Caiaphas  was  he  who  gave 
counsel  to  the  Jews,  that  it  was  expedient  that  one 
man  should  die  for  the  people."  Thus  far  then  had 
this  arch-conspirator  succeeded,  his  "counsel,"  as  wc 
have  already  seen,  was  taken;  the  proclamation  of 
the  Sanhedrim  had  been  issued;  the  agony  of  the 
garden  had  been  endured;  and  Jesus  was  sent  bound 
from  the  presence  of  Annas  to  that  of  Caiaphas,  be- 
fore whom  a  trial  took  place,  the  most  abhorrent  in 
its  process  to  every  principle  of  rectitude  and  justice 
that  ever  took  place  on  this  earth. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


CALVARY. 


THE    CRUCIFIXION. 


"And  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  the  elders  of  the  people, 
and  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes,  came  together, 
and  led  Jesus  into  their  council."  But  as  we  do  not 
intend  to  quote  passages  from  the  sad  mockery  of  a 
trial  which  followed,  and  which  every  reader  of  the 
New  Testament  may  ponder  for  himself,  let  us  follow 
our  Lord  to  the  scene  of  his  last  sufferings. 

"Well  lie  remembers  Calvary, 
Nor  let  his  saints  forget." 

Calvary  is  a  Latin  word,  meaning  skull,  or  place  of 
skulls;  and  the  probabihty  is,  that  the  small  emi- 
nence denominated  Mount  Calvary,  was  the  place 
of  capital  punishments,  which  neither  among  the 
Romans  nor  among  the  Jews  was  allowed  to  be 
within  the  walls  of  a  city.  Jesus  died  without  the 
gate;  for  the  sacrifice  he  offered  was  the  anti-type 
of  those  sacrifices  which,  under  the  law,  were  burned 
without  the  camp.  "For  the  bodies  of  those  beasts," 
says  Paul,  "whose  blood  is  brought  into  the  sanc- 
tuary by  the  high  priest  for  sin,  are  burned  without 
the  camp.  Wherefore  Jesus  also,  that  he  might 
sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood,  suffered  with- 
out the  gate." 


CALVARY.  281 

Jesus,  betrayed  by  Judas,  denied  by  Peter,  con- 
demned by  the  Sanhedrim,  mocked  by  the  impious 
Herod,  scornfully  abused,  smitten,  and  blindfolded 
by  the  mob,  crowned  with  thorns,  streaming  with 
blood,  and  given  over  to  death  by  the  pusillanimous 
Pilate,  after  he  had  repeatedly  borne  the  most  ex- 
plicit testimony  to  his  innocence,  was  led  forth  to 
Calvary,  bearing  his  cross,  in  the  company  of  two 
malefactors,  and  surrounded  by  a  dense  multitude  of 
cruel  and  infatuated  men.  Having  reached  the  place 
of  execution,  they  nailed  him  to  his  cross,  and,  as 
a  mark  of  the  greatest  indignity,  "  with  him  they 
crucified  the  two  thieves,  the  one  on  his  right  hand 
and  the  other  on  his  left."  It  was  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  Friday,  the  day  of  preparation  for 
the  solemnities  of  the  first  Sabbath  that  followed  the 
Passover.  Throngs  of  spectators  are  every  where 
visible.  Multitudes  surround  the  cross.  But  all 
cannot  get  near.  On  the  eminences  in  the  distance, 
on  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  on  the  roofs  of  the 
houses,  throngs  are  seen.  Priests  and  Levites,  Pha- 
risees and  Sadducees,  doctors  of  the  law  and  their 
disciples,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  men  from  all  the  pro- 
vinces of  the  land,  and  from  distant  parts  of  the 
Roman  empire,  the  philosopher  and  the  peasant,  the 
noble  and  ignoble,  all  are  looking  towards  Calvary. 
Lepers,  cleansed  by  the  Sufferer  between  the  two 
thieves,  mingling  with  their  fellow  citizens,  are 
there.  The  lame,  enabled  by  him  to  walk,  are  there 
also.  Those  who  had  been  blind,  and  to  whom  he 
had  given  sight,  are  gazing  on  the  scene.  Perhaps 
some  of  those  Avhoni  he  had  raised  from  the  dead 
have  come   to  witness   his  death.      There  are  also 

24* 


282  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

some  of  those  who  scattered  branches  in  the  way 
when  he  rode  into  Jerusalem.  Tliere  is  a  mother 
holding  np  her  child  that  it  may  obtain  a  view  of 
the  man  whom  it  had  lately  greeted  with  "Hosanna!" 
In  the  distance  were  his  acquaintances,  and  many 
women  who  had  followed  him  from  Galilee.  "They 
stood  afar  off,  beholding."  Close  by  the  cross  there 
stood  four  persons,  whose  ardent  love  to  Jesus  brought 
them  there,  despite  the  wildness  of  the  throng  and 
the  rudeness  of  the  Roman  soldiers,  and  the  compli- 
cated horrors  of  the  scene.  Mary,  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  her  sister,  and  Mary  Magdalene,  with 
the  beloved  and  amiable  John,  were  there.  Their 
feelings  who  shall  describe?  We  attempt  it  not. 
The  revilings  of  the  multitude  were  heard  on  every 
hand;  the  passing  and  re-passing  crowds  were  no- 
ticed shaking  their  heads  in  scorn,  and  heard  up- 
braiding him;  the  chief  priests  and  rulers,  with  the 
scribes  and  elders,  actually  taunt  him  with  his  acts 
of  benevolence  and  power;  they  turn  to  ridicule 
even  his  piety: — "He  trusted  in  God,  let  him  de- 
liver him  now,  if  he  will  have  him."  The  soldiers 
also  mocked  him;  and  as  if  all  this  were  not  display 
enough  of  demoniac  madness,  one  of  the  tortured 
wretches  that  hung  by  his  side  turned  his  writhing 
eyes  upon  him,  and  branded  him  as  an  impostor ! 

Three  hours  passed  thus.  Three  hours,  during 
which  human  wickedness  had  reached  its  climax.  It 
could  go  no  further.  It  had  gathered  all  its  forces, 
summoned  all  its  resources,  concentrated  all  its  ma- 
lignity, and  expended  all  its  virulence.  Three  hours, 
during  which,  perhaps,  all  nature  shone  out  with 
ordinary  tranquillity.     The  fields  were  mellow  for  the 


CALVARY.  283 

sickle :  the  sheaf  of  new  corn  was  to  be  presented  on 
the  coming  day.  The  earth  was  quiet.  Tlie  rivers 
of  Judea  ran  on  as  usual.  The  sun  was  ascending 
the  horizon.     It  was  nearly  noon. 

"  In  'customed  glory  briglit,  that  morn,  the  sun 
Rose,  visiting  the  earth  with  light,  and  heat, 
And  joy;  and  seemed  as  full  of  youth,  and  strong 
To  mount  the  steep  of  heaven,  as  when  the  stars 
Of  morning  sung  to  his  first  dawn,  and  niglit 
Fled  from  his  face  ;  the  spacious  sky  received 
Him,  blushing  as  a  bride,  when  on  iier  looked 
The  bridegroom  ;  and  spread  out  beneath  his  eye, 
Eartii  smiled.     Up  to  his  warm  embrace,  the  dews, 
That  all  night  long  had  wept  his  absence,  flew; 
The  herbs  and  flowers  their  fragrant  stores  unlocked. 
And  gave  the  wanton  breeze  that,  newly  woke. 
Revelled  in  sweets,  and  from  its  wings  shook  healtii, 
A  thousand  grateful  smells;   the  joyous  woods 
Dried  in  his  beams  their  locks,  wet  with  the  drops 
Of  night;  and  all  the  sons  of  music  sung 
Their  matin  song — from  arboured  bower,  the  thrush 
Concerting  with  the  lark  that  hymned  on  high." 

Noon  came,  when  suddenly  a  preternatural  dark- 
ness spread  over  the  land;  the  sun  was  darkened, 
though  it  was  now  full  moon,  and  could  not  there- 
fore be  an  ordinary  eclipse;  the  vail  of  the  temple, 
which  divided  the  holy  from  the  most  holy  place, 
was  rent  in  two  from  the  top  to  the  bottom:  the 
sacred  oracle  was  opened  to  public  view;  the  earth 
trembled,  as  if  in  sympathy  with  the  agony  of  the 
Redeemer;  the  rocks  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jeru- 
salem were  torn  asunder  by  an  invisible  hand ;  and 
graves  were  opened  by  the  awful  earthquake.  The 
guilty  nmltitude  were  thrown  into  fearful  conster- 
nation.    About  three  hours  after  the  sun  had  with- 


284  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

drawn  his  beams,  Jesus  cried  out,  "My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  Shortly  after- 
wards he  said,  "//  is  finished^  And,  when  he 
had  cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  he  said,  "Father, 
into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,"  and  he  bowed 
his  head  and  dismissed  his  spirit.  The  Roman 
centurion  who  conducted  the  execution,  convinced 
by  these  prodigies  that  there  had  been  some  irreme- 
diable error  committed,  exclaimed,  "Certainly  this 
was  a  righteous  man;  truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God." 
Those  that  were  with  him  watching  Jesus,  terrified 
by  these  miracles  and  by  the  guilt  of  their  own  con- 
sciences, repeated,  "Truly,  this  was  the  Son  of  God." 
And  the  multitude  of  spectators,  filled  with  remorse 
and  apprehension  of  speedy  vengeance,  "smote  their 
breasts  and  returned."  Until  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  fearful  darkness  remained.  Period  of 
dread  to  the  indescribably  guilty  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem! Period  of  unseen  and  unrevealed  agony  to 
the  atoning  Saviour!  For  three  hours  before  noon 
he  hung  on  the  accursed  tree,  the  jest  of  blasphe- 
mers; for  three  hours  after  noon,  he  suffered  amidst 
the  fearful  darkness  of  the  sun  and  the  commotions 
of  nature,  the  indiscribable  stroke  of  God's  fiery 
law  as  the  substitute  of  sinners.  His  Father  for- 
sook him  and  hid  his  countenance  from  him,  and 
amidst  the  darkness  of  nature,  and  the  silence  im- 
posed on  the  multitude  by  that  darkness,  he  hung 
on  the  cross,  the  victim  of  Divine  justice,  and  again 
alone,  as  he  had  been  a  few  hours  before  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.  The  agony  of  the  garden — 
too  great  for  human  eye — Avas  intermitted  until  the 
perjured  witnesses,  and   the   cruel    priests,  and    the 


CALVARY.  285 

venal  judge,  and  the  delirious  multitude  had  done 
their  fearful  work,  and  then,  again  in  darkness,  to 
hide  the  great  sight  from  every  human  eye,  the 
awful  cup  is  presented — all  nature  waiting  in  sus- 
pense to  ascertain  whether  it  should  be  emptied  to 
its  dregs — and  accepted,  and,  at  the  expense  of  his 
life  it  is  all  drunk.  Sufficient  strength  is  left  for 
the  Saviour  to  exclaim,  "It  is  Finished."  God 
heard  that  cry,  and  looked  down  with  love  on  his 
beloved  Son.  The  law  heard  it,  and  was  completely 
satisfied.  The  sun  heard  it,  and  immediately  shone 
out  in  splendour,  as  if  to  gild  the  first  hours  of  the 
glorious  economy,  and  to  write  upon  the  earth,  "It 
is  finished."  The  vibrating  earth  heard  that  cry,  and 
as  if  shaking  the  curse  and  death  from  her  bosom, 
awoke  some  of  those  that  slept  there.  And  death 
heard  that  cry,  which  pronounced  his  doom  for  ever, 
and  as  if  to  testify  to  its  truth,  surrendered  a  number 
of  those  whom  he  had  taken  to  his  gloomy  dominions. 
Dark  and  dreadful,  beyond  the  powers  of  any 
creature  to  imagine,  were  these  three  hours  to  the 
soul  of  our  blessed  Redeemer.  The  hand  of  God, 
which  had  ever  been  to  him  full  of  love,  was  now 
upon  him  as  the  avenger  of  his  own  justice.  The 
face  of  God  which  had  ever  beamed  with  joy  upon 
him,  was  now  withdrawn.  No  ray  of  loving-kind- 
ness pierced  that  tremendous  gloom;  the  curse  of 
human  guilt  now  entered  his  sinless  soul.  Tlie 
penalty  of  the  holy  law  was  now  borne  by  him  who 
undertook  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him- 
self. "To  what  Christ  was  now  enduring  in  his 
soul,"  says  Wylie,  in  his  truly  valuable  work — 
"Scenes  from  the  Bible" — "is  also  to  be  added  the 


286  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

complete  suspension  of  every  public  testimony  to 
his  sonship.  Adversity  is  the  time  when  love  is 
put  upon  her  trial.  This  was  the  hour,  above  every 
other,  when  Christ  stood  in  need  of  the  countenance 
of  his  F'ather;  and  yet  this  was  the  hour  when  he 
was  forsaken:  and  never  was  any  being  more  com- 
pletely forsaken  than  the  Son  of  God  now  was.  All 
creatures  in  the  universe,  from  the  throne  down- 
wards, stood  afar  off;  not  a  voice  spoke  comfort,  not 
an  eye  looked  love.  His  countrymen?  They  had 
forsaken  him.  His  disciples?  They,  too,  had  for- 
saken him.  His  own  Father?  Ah!  that  was  the 
sorrow  that  wounded  him  to  the  death.  'My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me!'  No  wonder 
that  the  wicked  reviled  him.  No  wonder  that  Satan 
raged  when  his  own  Father  was  silent.  The  roar 
of  blasphemy  rose  to  the  heavens,  but  no  voice  came 
from  the  heavens  to  rebuke  it.  His  enemies  were 
now  saying,  'He  trusted  in  God;  let  him  deliver 
him  now,  if  he  will  have  him.'  This  challenge 
remained  without  an  answer,  and  those  from  whom 
it  came,  accounted  that  they  had  reason  to  conclude 
that  he  was  not  the  Son  of  God.  The  light  that 
shone  around  him  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration, 
did  not  break  forth  to  dispel  the  darkness  on  Cal- 
vary. The  voice  that  ere  while  answered  him  in 
thunder,  'I  have  both  glorified  my  name,  and  will 
glorify  it  again'  was  silent  during  this  hour.  Every 
public  testimony  was  withheld  when,  as  we  would 
have  thought,  it  was  most  urgently  needed.  To  a 
spectator  of  the  scene,  it  must  have  appeared  as  if 
the  throne  of  righteousness  had  fallen,  while  wicked- 
ness had  resolved  to  celebrate  its  fall  by  walking  in 


CALVARY.  287 

triumph  through  the  universe."  All  events  seemed 
to  concur  against  Messiah,  and  hoUness,  and  justice, 
and  God.  The  plans  of  the  wicked  were  perfectly 
successful.  Jealousy  had  her  revenge,  malice  its 
satisfaction,  bribery  its  price.  The  high  priest  was 
satisfied;  the  Sanhedrim  had  succeeded;  Pilate  be- 
came popular;  between  him  and  Herod  a  recon- 
ciliation took  place;  Judas  was  rewarded;  Barabbas 
released;  the  blood-thirsty  mob  satiated;  and  "that 
deceiver" — as  the  priests  and  Pharisees  blasphem- 
ously termed  our  adored  Redeemer — put  to  death 
between  two  robbers,  by  the  tortures  of  crucifixion. 
But  "the  triumph  of  the  wicked  is  short."  The  cup 
of  their  iniquity  was  full,  and  it  soon,  very  soon, 
came  to  them  to  be  drunk.  The  hand  that  held  it 
brooks  no  refusal.     "I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord." 

But  whilst  we  stand  astonished  at  the  wickedness 
of  these  men,  let  us  remember  who  they  were,  and 
what  prompted  them  to  this  excess  of  guilt,  lest  our 
indignation  expend  its  force  in  the  wrong  direction. 
The  murderers  of  Jesus  were  members  of  the  human 
family,  our  kindred,  our  fellow-men;  and  as  God 
tells  us  that  those  who  fall  away,  "crucify  to  them- 
selves the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him  to  an 
open  shame,"  it  becomes  us  to  guard  with  constant 
jealousy  our  thoughts  and  affections,  lest  we,  too, 
should  trifle  with  gracious  influences  and  kind  in- 
vitations, and  forsaking  the  path  of  humility,  should 
plunge  into  that  worldliness  which  caused  these  bad 
men  to  put  the  Holy  One  of  God  to  a  shameful 
death.  Their  depravity  was  no  deeper  than  ours, 
their  hatred  of  holiness  no  stronger  than  that  which 
thousands,  who  daily  walk  our  streets,  bear  in  their 


2S8  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

bosoms.  They  loved  the  world,  and  the  praises  of 
men,  and  the  pleasnres  of  time,  and  the  objects  of 
sense.  They  persecuted  Jesus,  because  he  testified 
against  their  evil  deeds.  Their  consciences  were 
stung  by  his  rebukes,  their  pride  was  offended  at 
his  poverty,  their  unclean  hearts  were  embittered 
at  his  holiness.  Such  were  the  men — our  kindred, 
our  brethren;  and  such  the  evil  principles  that 
prompted  them  to  guilt — ^liatred  of  God,  love  of  the 
world,  pride,  selfishness,  impurity;  principles  which 
characterize  the  hearts  of  living  myriads  in  this  pro- 
fessedly Christian  land,  and  which,  but  for  the  free 
love  of  God,  in  hifusing  grace  into  our  hearts  by  his 
Spirit,  would  characterize  us  all. 

Nay,  more,  it  was  our  sins  that  crucified  the  Lord 
of  life  and  glory.  He  suffered  for  us,  the  just  for 
the  unjust.  Our  iniquities  met  upon  his  holy  soul, 
our  sins  crowned  him  with  thorns,  and  nailed  him 
to  the  cross,  and  mingled  the  cup  of  his  agony. 
He  died  in  our  stead,  and  suffered  in  our  room, 
the  shameful  death  on  Calvary.  Instead  of  weep- 
ing over  the  fearful  guilt  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem — and  0!  it  was  fearful  beyond  prece- 
dent or  parallel — let  us  weep  over  our  depravity 
and  guilt,  our  pride  and  worldiiness,  our  indiffer- 
ence to  things  divine,  and  deep  ingratitude  to  God, 
notwithstanding  mercies  innumerable  as  the  sands 
by  the  sea-shore.  Instead  of  standing  amazed  at 
the  crime  of  Judea — for  which  she  has  groaned 
under  the  curse  ever  since — let  us  wonder  at  the 
wickedness  and  hardness  of  our  own  hearts,  which 
nothing  short  of  the  power  of  God's  Spirit  can  soften 
into  penitence  and  holy  love.     And,  instead  of  ad- 


CALVARY.  289 

miring  our  Redeemer's  patience,  wlio  suffered  him- 
self to  be  thus  maltreated  and  abused  by  beings  who 
were  absolutely  in  his  hand,  let  us  adore  him  for 
bearing  so  long  with  our  follies,  our  unfulfilled  vows 
and  broken  resolutions,  and  feeble  conceptions  of  his 
true  character  and  claims.  By  a  word  or  a  look  he 
could  have  smitten  the  Jewish  priests  and  people, 
and  the  Roman  governor  and  soldiers,  with  per- 
petual death ;  they  were  all  entirely  at  his  disposal ; 
but  he  holds  the  same  power  over  us  continually, 
and  yet  how  seldom  are  we  becomingly  impressed 
with  the  solemn  fact! 

In  what  light  can  we  view  the  scenes  of  Calvary 
except  in  that  of  atonement?  The  glorious  Scripture 
doctrine  that  Jesus  offered  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of 
men  on  Calvary,  and  made  atonement  there,  explains 
these  transactions;  but  remove  the  light  given  by 
this  doctrine,  and  how  fearfully  dark,  how  utterly 
inexplicable  all  becomes!  Retain  that  light,  how- 
ever, and  how  glorious  everything  appears  to  the 
mind  of  the  believer!  The  shadow  of  night  turns 
into  morning,  the  gloom  rolls  away  before  the  bright 
light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness;  the  curse  that 
would  have  entered  his  soul,  and  destroyed  him 
eternally,  is  seen  to  fall  upon  the  heart  of  his  Re- 
deemer; and  can  he  help — believing  this — to  love 
and  bless  that  Redeemer?  to  live  to  his  glory,  and 
to  count  all  things  but  dung  for  his  sake?  Can 
he  help  asking  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?"  Feeling  that  he  is  bought  with  a  price,  he 
must  endeavour  to  glorify  God  in  his  body  and 
spirit,  which  are  God's.  The  ties  that  bind  him 
to  the  Redeemer's  service  are  of  no  common  kind. 

25 


290  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

Can  he  meditate  on  the  love  of  Jesus  to  him,  as  seen 
in  Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  without  fcehng  that  it 
is  his  reasonable  service  to  live  to  the  honour  of 
such  a  Redeemer?  Gazing  on  the  fire  that  con- 
sumed the  sacrifice — and  which,  but  for  Messiah's 
eternal  love,  would  have  consumed  him — can  he 
come  to  any  other  conclusion  than  this,  that  life  is 
only  valuable  so  far  as  it  contributes  to  the  fame 
of  his  enthroned  Redeemer?  There  is  no  other 
conclusion  possible  in  this  case.  It  is  surely  the 
inevitable  and  only  reasonable  deduction  from  such 
a  wonderful  subject.  Were  the  love  of  Christ  more 
felt,  there  would  be  more  zeal,  more  living,  active, 
high-toned  piety;  more  of  the  spirit  of  right-minded 
devotedness,  and,  consequently,  less  of  that  cold, 
formal,  measured  religion,  which  goes  by  the  name 
of  Christianity,  and  which  threatens  to  work  havoc 
with  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  which  will  fulfil  its 
threatening  speedily,  if  Christian  men  do  not  in- 
spire more  largely  the  life-blood  that  flows  from 
Messiah's  love.  Gethsemane  and  Calvary  must  be 
brought  near,  examined,  studied,  and  prayed  over, 
and  their  influence  felt.  It  is  an  influence  fitted  to 
arouse  from  its  very  depths  the  holiest  passions  of 
tlie  coldest  soul,  to  give  life  to  the  dead,  and  activity 
to  the  indolent,  and  hope  to  the  despairing,  and  joy 
to  the  most  sorrowful  spirit.  Let  men  look  at  Jesus, 
and  try  to  penetrate  the  darkness  of  the  garden  and 
Calvary;  let  them  realize  the  fact  that  the  Son  of 
God  endured  woe  there  which  it  is  impossible  to 
describe,  and  that  that  woe  was  on  their  account,  for 
them,  the  penalty  due  to  their  sins;  that  it  was  the 
curse  of  the  violated  law  of  Jehovah;  and  that  Jesus 


CALVARY.  291 

bore  it,  out  of  infinite  love  and  infinite  compassion  for 
them — that  he  might  save  them,  and  bring  them  to 
God,  and  hoUness,  and  happiness,  and  heaven — and 
wonder  will  fill  their  breasts,  and  repentance  pour 
out  her  tears  from  their  eyes,  and,  casting  themselves 
at  the  feet  of  Messiah,  they  will  say,  "My  Lord,  and 
my  God!" 

Nor  can  we  pass  from  the  crucifixion  without  look- 
ing again  at  the  love  of  God  to  man  through  tlie  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  mode  of  its  manifestation  is  one 
of  the  circumstances  looked  at  by  men  who  have  re- 
ceived a  proof  of  kindness  from  their  fellow  men:  if 
that  mode  be  such  as  to  prove  that  the  kind  action 
cost  the  benefactor  a  great  sacrifice,  the  individual 
benefited  feels  peculiar  claims  laid  upon  his  gratitude. 
How  strongly  does  this  apply  in  the  case  under  con- 
sideration! God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his 
only  begotten  Son — who  dwelt  with  him  before  the 
world  was,  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  in  whom  he  felt  infinite  com- 
placency— to  give  him  up,  not  only  to  appear  in  the 
lowly  gnise  of  humanity,  but  to  be  poor,  afflicted, 
scorned,  rejected,  slain,  by  wretched  men,  rebels 
against  law  and  love,  children  of  wrath,  and  heirs  of 
hell;  and  not  only  this,  but  to  be  tempted  repeatedly 
by  the  malignant  foe  of  God,  who  had  long  been 
expelled  from  heaven;  and  not  only  all  this,  but  to 
bear  the  awful  weight  of  his  own  broken  law,  the 
penalty,  the  curse  of  sin.  Surely,  if  anything  can 
give  an  impressive  idea  of  God's  love,  it  is  the  mode 
of  its  manifestation.  We  can  conceive  of  no  higher 
proof  than  has  been  afforded  us  in  the  atonement, 
that  God  is  love.     The  only  Son  of  God  given  up  a 


292  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

sacrifice  for  sin — "Christ  our  passover  sacrificed  for 
us,"  that  we  might  escape  from  deserved  wrath,  and 
receive  pardon,  adoption,  a  new  heart;  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  sanctify  us,  and,  in  due  time,  glory,  honour, 
and  eternal  Hfe:  if  this  doctrine  be  not  evidence  of 
love  which  passeth  knowledge,  such  evidence  is  no- 
where else  to  be  found.  The  inspired  writers  repre- 
sent it  as  an  overwhelming  proof  of  the  Father's 
love.  Hence,  they  glory  in  the  cross;  the  scenes  of 
Calvary  are  ever  present  to  their  minds;  the  cruci- 
fixion of  the  Redeemer  they  never  forget:  they  felt 
the  hallowed  influence  of  that  love,  whose  unparal- 
leled strength  is  seen  in  the  atoning  death  of  the  ever 
blessed  Son  of  God — to  whom  be  glory  for  ever! 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


THE    BURIAL. 


MELANCHOLY        THOUGHTS. 


As  the  day  was  drawing  to  a  dose,  the  Jews,  anxious 
that  the  bodies  should  not  remain  all  night  upon  tlie 
cross,  entreated  Pilate  to  instruct  the  soldiers,  who 
were  watching  the  crucified  persons,  to  break  their 
legs  for  the  purpose  of  hastening  death,  that  they 
might  be  removed.  It  was  customary  among  some 
eastern  nations  to  leave  the  bodies  of  criminals  who 
had  been  executed,  on  the  crosses  or  slakes,  to  be 
eaten  by  birds  of  prey.  But  the  Jewish  law  on  the 
subject  ran  thus: — "If  a  man  have  committed  a  sin 
worthy  of  death,  and  he  be  to  be  put  to  death,  and 
thou  hang  him  on  a  tree;  his  body  shall  not  remain 
all  night  upon  the  tree,  but  thou  shalt  in  anywise 
bury  him  that  day;  (for  he  that  is  hanged  is  ac- 
cursed of  God;)  that  thy  land  be  not  defiled,  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  for  an  inheritance." 
John  also  mentions  another  reason  for  the  solicitude 
of  the  Jews  on  this  subject,  namely,  because  the  day 
on  which  Jesus  was  crucified,  was  "  the  preparation" 
for  the  Sabbath.  The  Roman  governor  complied 
with  their  request,  and  issued  orders  accordingly. 
The  soldiers,  therefore,  broke  the  legs  of  the  malefac- 
tors; but  finding  that  Jesus  was  dead  they  broke  not 

25* 


294  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

his  legs.  One  of  the  soldiers  however,  gratified  his 
inhumanity  by  piercing  the  side  of  the  dead  body 
with  a  spear,  "and  forthwith  there  came  out  blood 
and  water,"  from  which  it  is  evident  that,  had  Jesus 
been  alive,  the  wound  would  have  been  mortal,  for 
it  had  reached  his  heart.  "These  things  were  done," 
adds  the  Evangelist,  "that  the  scripture  should  be 
fulfilled,  A  bone  of  him  shall  not  be  broken.  And 
again  another  scripture  saith.  They  shall  look  on 
him  whom  they  pierced."  Meantime,  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  who, 
as  already  mentioned,  had  not  concurred  with  his 
fellow-senators  in  their  resolution  to  destroy  Jesus, 
went  in  boldly  to  Pilate,  and  asked  permission  to 
remove  the  body  for  burial.  The  governor,  know- 
ing that  executions  by  crucifixion  were  lingering, 
expressed  doubt  as  to  the  reality  oj"  the  death  of 
Jesus;  but  having  ascertained  from  the  centurion, 
not  only  that  previous  appearances  indicated  that 
life  was  extinct,  but  that  he  had  been  pierced  to 
the  heart  by  one  of  the  soldiers,  he  commanded  the 
body  to  be  delivered  to  Joseph,  who,  thus  author- 
ized, took  it  down  from  the  cross,  "and  wrapped 
it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth.  And  there  came  also 
Nicodemus,  (who,  at  the  first,  came  to  Jesus  by 
night,)  and  brought  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes, 
about  an  hundred  pound  weight.  Then  took  they 
the  body  of  Jesus,  and  wound  it  in  linen  clothes, 
with  the  spices,  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews  is  to 
bury.  Now,  in  the  place  where  he  was  crucified 
there  was  a  garden;  and  in  the  garden  a  new  se- 
pulchre," which  Joseph  had  hewn  out  of  the  rock, 
and  in  which  no  body  had  been  previously  placed. 


THE    BURIAL.  295 

Having  laid  the  body  of  the  Redeemer  there,  "and 
rolled  a  great  stone  to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre," 
they  departed.  JMoreover,  those  pious  women  who 
had  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  were  witnesses  of 
the  interment:  they  beheld  where  and  how  his  body 
was  laid.  "And  they  returned,  and  prepared  spices 
and  ointments;  and  rested  the  Sabbath  day  accord- 
ing to  the  commandment." 

Thus,  then,  two  points  of  great  importance  were 
established  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  the  re- 
ality of  Christ's  death,  and  the  fact  of  burial.  Un- 
certainty about  the  first  would  have  thrown  doubt 
on  the  resurrection;  uncertainty  about  the  last  would 
have  created  difliculties  as  to  personal  identity.  But 
that  he  died  and  was  buried,  is  just  as  certain  as 
that  he  lived  and  rose  again.  The  evidence  in 
favour  of  the  former  facts  is  as  strong  as  that  in 
favour  of  the  latter;  consequently,  the  scepticism  that 
affects  doubt  as  to  the  death  of  Jesus,  setting  aside, 
as  it  does,  all  the  ordijiary  sources  of  testimony,  can- 
not be  reasoned  with.  The  friends  and  enemies  of 
Jesus  alike  knew  that  "he  was  cut  off  out  of  the 
land  of  the  living."  To  the  latter  it  was  a  source  of 
momentary  triumph.  To  the  former  it  was  the  cause 
of  deep,  but,  we  rejoice,  of  only  temporary,  grief. 

And  now  that  the  stone  is  rolled  to  the  door  of 
the  sepulchre,  and  all  Jerusalem  is  summoned  to 
attend  to  the  solemnities  of  the  Sabbath,  which 
began  at  six  o'clock,  let  us  try  to  imagine  the 
thoughts  of  Christ's  disciples.  Melancholy  thoughts ! 
for  as  yet  they  knew  not  the  meaning  of  his  pre- 
diction, that  he  should  rise  from  the  dead. 

It  is  when  the  anxiety  and  excitement  occasioned 


296  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

by  the  illness  and  death  of  our  beloved  relatives  have 
subsided — when  kind  friends  who  have  been  with 
us,  rendering  aid  or  administering  consolation,  have 
returned  to  the  duties  of  their  own  homes — when  we 
leave  with  slow  step  the  cold  grave  and  return  to 
our  dwellings,  no  more  to  hear  the  voice  that  cheered 
us,  or  to  look  on  the  face  we  loved; — it  is  then  that 
deep  grief  wrings  the  heart,  and  that  tears  gush 
from  the  swollen  eyes.  Then  the  lips  quiver  as  we 
pronounce  the  name  of  the  departed  one,  who  will 
never  answer  our  tremulous  call.  We  feel  alone,  as 
if  we  had  been  cut  off  from  the  society  of  the  living, 
and  our  grief  at  the  irreparable  loss  we  have  sus- 
tained creates  a  chill  around  us,  as  if  in  sympathy 
with  the  house  of  death,  where  lies  the  object  of  our 
love:  the  cold  sensations  of  grief  claim  kindred  with 
the  grave;  and  our  sorrow  is  of  course  in  proportion 
to  our  affection.  Everything  around  us  seems  to 
weep  with  us.  Every  object  on  which  we  cast  our 
eye,  is  clad  in  gloom.  Especially  is  this  the  case  if 
in  any  way  it  reminds  us  of  the  dear  deceased.  And 
then  memory,  unusually  active,  recalls  deeds  of  kind- 
ness done  to  us  which  cannot  be  repeated,  or  need- 
lessly harsh  words  spoken  by  us  which  we  would  fain 
have  unsaid,  but  which  we  cannot  unsay:  all  these 
things  deepen  the  sadness  to  which  surrounding  ob- 
jects lend  their  aid. 

These  ordinary  operations  of  feeling  would  be 
greatly  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  disciples,  by  the 
extraordinary  character  of  him  whom  they  imagined 
they  had  lost,  and  the  extraordinary  circumstances 
attending  his  death.  They  had  lost  not  only  a 
friend,  an  instructor,  and  a  guide,  but  one  in  whom 


THE    BURIAL.  297 

they  had  placed  their  hopes  of  redemption,  both 
personal  and  national — one  whose  whole  life  had 
been  actively  spent  in  scattering  blessings — whose 
sinless  character  had  elicited  the  admiration  of  all 
who  knew  him — wliose  miracles  had  attested  that 
he  was  more  than  man — who  had  received  repeated 
testimony  to  his  Messiahship  from  the  heavenly 
world — and  to  whom  therefore  their  eyes  were  turn- 
ed as  the  long  promised  messenger  of  the  covenant. 
They  knew,  moreover,  that  he  was  entirely  inno- 
cent of  the  crimes  laid  to  his  charge,  and  that  his 
accusers  and  judges  had  borne  testimony  to  that  ef- 
fect. The  manner  of  his  death,  too,  the  most  igno- 
minious that  could  be  selected,  aggravated  by  pre- 
vious maltreatment,  and  by  the  position  of  his  cross 
between  those  to  which  two  wretched  criminals  were 
nailed,  would  add  poignancy  to  their  sorrow.  The 
unexampled  baseness  of  Judas,  the  contemptible  cow- 
ardice of  Peter,  and  the  pitiable  desertion  of  Jesus 
by  the  rest  of  the  disciples,  would  come  up  in  all 
their  dark  colours.  Self-accusation,  also,  would  add 
bitterness  to  their  cup  on  this  sad  Sabbath-day. 
Joseph  and  Nicodemus  would  reproach  themselves 
for  being  influenced  by  the  fear  of  the  Jews,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  public  confession  of  their  behef  in  Jesus 
previous  to  his  death,  when  they  might  have  been 
able  successfully  to  oppose  the  proposal  for  his  de- 
struction. That  Peter  passed  two  wretched  days — 
days  of  intense  grief  and  self-abhorrence,  there  can- 
not be  a  doubt.  That  the  perfidious  Judas,  driven 
to  despair  by  the  raging  fire  in  his  dark  soul,  rush- 
ed to  destruction  by  self-murder,  we  know.  That 
the  remainder  of  the   apostles  were  the   subjects  of 


298  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

iincrontrollable  grief,  is  apparent  on  the  slightest 
reflection;  and  that  those  affectionate  female  disci- 
ples, who  had  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  and  had 
"ministered  to  him  of  their  substance,"  wept  tears 
of  unutterable  sorrow,  who  can  doubt?  And  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Jesus?  Her  feelings,  her  woe,  her 
heaviness  of  spirit,  words  cannot  describe. 

To  all  this  must  be  added  the  crushing  sensation 
of  terrible  disappointment.  Their  expectations  re- 
garding Jesus  had  been  of  the  highest  kind.  They 
"trusted  that  it  had  been  he  who  should  have 
redeemed  Israel."  They  fondly  expected  that  he 
would  take  possession  of  the  throne  of  his  royal 
ancestor,  David,  and  lift  the  degraded  kingdom  to 
more  than  its  original  splendour  among  the  nations 
of  the  world — that  he  would  banish  the  emblems  of 
idolatry  and  the  presence  of  idolaters  from  the  fa- 
voured land — that  no  foreign  foe  should  be  able  to 
withstand  his  powerful  arms;  and  that  national 
prosperity,  wealth,  and  grandeur,  should  distinguish 
and  celebrate  his  long  and  glorious  reign.  But, 
he  was  dead!  The  bitterness  of  their  disappoint- 
ment corresponded  with  the  greatness  of  their  ex- 
pectations: their  hopes  were  hurled  to  a  depth  pro- 
portionate to  the  height  to  which  they  had  been 
raised.  True,  indeed,  there  was  no  ground  for  those 
hopes  regarding  secular  or  national  pre-eminence. 
Jesus  had  frequently  rebuked  them;  but  the  resto- 
ration of  the  kingdom  to  Israel  was  an  idea  asso- 
ciated in  their  minds  with  the  work  of  Messiah,  and 
nothing  but  tiie  most  grievous  disappointment  in  the 
first  instance,  followed  by  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  could   dislodge  it.     It  was   subsequently  dis- 


THE    BURIAL.  299 

lodged  to  make  room  for  an  idea  of  much  greater 
glory,  wlien  the  true  nature  of  Messiah's  throne  and 
kingdom  took  possession  of  their  understandings; 
but,  in  the  meantime,  their  grief  revolved  around 
this  foUacious  expectation. 

So  it  is  in  common  life.  Far  from  the  scene  of 
those  stirring  incidents  that  proclaim  the  movements 
of  the  great  ones  of  earth,  hopes  are  born,  fostered, 
encouraged,  and  blasted,  whose  extravagance,  when 
related  to  the  sons  of  ease  by  the  novelist,-  creates  a 
smile  on  their  faces.  But  the  novelist  seldom  under- 
stands, and  the  sons  of  ease  never,  the  real  depth, 
and  the  intricate  and  subtle  workings,  of  those  feel- 
ings in  the  human  soul,  which  weave  such  deceitful 
hopes.  Many  a  noble  and  sensitive  mind,  full  of 
lofty  aspirations,  and  agitated  by  high  thoughts, 
moves  in  the  lower  classes  of  society.  Hopes  are 
conceived,  and  theories  formed,  and  projects  sketched, 
amidst  the  toil  and  care  of  ordinary  life,  of  which  the 
great,  and  opulent,  and  mighty,  have  no  idea;  and 
to  the  sensitive  spirit,  surrounded  by  the  clamorous 
cares  and  imperative  demands  of  daily  domestic  duty, 
the  disappointment  of  those  fond  hopes  is  peculiarly 
distressing;  but  if,  as  in  the  case  of  the  disciples, 
they  take  a  far  higher  range  than  personal  or  family 
elevation  from  the  depths  of  anxiety  and  poverty, 
and  embrace  the  loftiest  kind  of  patriotism,  of  course 
their  non-realization  is  correspondingly  bitter;  and, 
still  further,  if,  as  in  the  case  of  the  followers  of  the 
crucified  Saviour,  the  only  being  who  could  possibly 
realize  them  is  removed  from  the  land  of  the  living, 
the  mental  pain  endured  is  of  the  most  fearful  kind. 
Many  things  concurred  to  make  those  unhappy,  who 


300  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

had  abandoned  all  on  the  faith  of  the  Messiahsliip  of 
Jesus.  True,  they  had  not,  hke  his  murderers,  to 
contend  with  the  fire  of  guiUy  consciences;  but  their 
hopes  appeared  to  be  blasted;  he  whom  they  fol- 
lowed was  put  to  death  as  a  malefactor;  they  had 
not  the  consolation  of  the  firm  faith  that  he  should 
rise  from  the  dead;  they  were  the  scorn  of  the 
populace,  and  exposed  to  the  power  of  the  rulers, 
who  would  speedily  desire  the  death  of  the  disciples, 
as  they  had  already  desired  and  obtained  that  of  the 
Master;  and  should  they  be  arrested,  the  probability 
that  they  should  escape  with  their  lives  was  ex- 
ceedingly small.  To  maintain,  under  the  circum- 
stances, the  innocence  of  Jesus,  was  to  arraign  their 
judges;  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  righteously  put 
to  death,  was  utterly  impossible;  and  to  promise  to 
abandon  their  faith  in  him  was  equally  out  of  the 
question.  It  is  also  true,  that  during  the  solemn 
day  under  review,  thoughts  of  a  merely  personal 
kind,  or  speculations  as  to  their  future  course,  may 
not  have  entered  much  into  the  minds  of  the  disci- 
ples, as  the  death  of  Jesus  was  too  great  an  event  to 
leave  much  room  for  inferior  considerations;  never- 
theless, as  they  could  not  but  connect  that  death  with 
the  malice  of  the  Sanhedrim,  the  probability  is,  that 
a  feeling  of  their  own  helpless  and  exposed  con- 
dition would  occasionally  flit  across  their  heaving 
breasts.  It  was  a  day  of  melancholy  thoughts  to 
the  disciples  of  the  crucified  Redeemer. 

But  the  followers  of  Christ  were  not  the  only 
parties  who  had  unhappy  thoughts  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  on  this  memorable  day;  nor  was  their 
unhappiness  so  intolerable  as  that  which  disquieted 


THE    BURIAL.  301 

the  souls  of  mony  others.  The  priests  and  elders 
who  conspu'ed  against  Jesus,  and  effected  his  death, 
conscious  as  they  were  of  the  innocence  of  the  object 
of  their  malice,  must  have  endured  great  mental 
torment.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  they  possessed 
the  inward  repose  of  men  who  are  "void  of  offence," 
or  that  they  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  which  rewards 
the  performance  of  a  virtuous  deed.  They  had  com- 
mitted a  fatal  error;  and  thongli  the  miserable  argu- 
ments of  Caiaphas  before  the  Sanhedrim,  together 
with  the  excitement  which  followed  the  adoption  of 
his  proposition,  allowed  little  time  for  calm  reflec- 
tion, yet  the  realization  of  their  desires  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  object  of  their  envy,  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  review  of  their  proceedings,  the  result 
of  which  must  have  been  very  alarming.  They  must 
have  taken  a  retrospect  of  their  conduct  during  the 
preceding  days;  and  a  terrible  retrospect  it  was! 
They  remembered  that  Jesns  had  done  no  wrong; 
that  they  had  given  Judas  money  to  betray  him; 
that  they  had  bribed  some  needy  wretches  to  swear 
away  his  life;  and  that  they  had  almost  compelled- 
Pilate  to  consent  to  his  execution;  that  the  traitor 
had,  in  an  agony  of  remorse,  tin-own  the  price  of 
his  crime  into  the  temple,  crying,  "I  have  sinned, 
in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood;"  that 
the  perjured  witnesses  openly  contradicted  each  other; 
that  Herod  and  Pilate  declared  that  there  was  no 
fault  in  the  man;  and  that  the  latter  washed  his 
hands  before  the  multitude  in  token  of  the  prisoner's 
perfect  innocence.  They  remembered,  moreover, 
the  awful  prodigies  of  the  preceding  day;  the  three 
hours  supernatural   darkness,  the  rocking  earth,  the 

26 


302  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

rending  rocks,  the  opening  graves,  and  the  torn 
temple-vail.  The  memorials  of  those  dread  hours 
were  before  them  and  around  them,  whilst  attending 
to  the  ceremonies  of  that  "high  Sabbath  day."  Be- 
fore them  was  the  sacred  vail,  torn  without  hands 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  many  gazing  on  it  with 
solemnity  in  their  countenances.  The  most  holy 
place  lay  open  to  other  eyes  than  those  of  the  high 
priest.  Around  them  were  the  rent  rocks;  and 
perhaps  in  the  city  many  a  building  lay  in  ruins 
from  the  violence  of  the  earthquake;  but,  more  im- 
pressive than  all,  many  graves  had  been  opened, 
and,  of  course,  could  not  be  closed  during  the  Sab- 
bath, and  perhaps  the  dead  lay  exposed  to  public 
view.  However  this  may  be,  those  graves  were 
opened  during  the  fearful  darkness  of  the  previous 
day,  and  remained  open  until  the  Sabbath  was  past, 
when  the  bodies  of  the  saints  who  slept  in  them 
arose,  after  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  went  into 
the  holy  city,  and  appeared  to  many.  But  over  all 
Jerusalem  there  was  gloom  that  day.  The  vast 
multitude  of  spectators  of  the  crucifixion  had  smit- 
ten their  breasts  in  proof  of  mental  disquietude.  In 
the  palace  of  Caiaphas  and  in  that  of  Pilate,  in  the 
dwellings  of  the  poor  and  in  the  mansions  of  the 
rich,  in  the  temple  of  God  and  in  the  rendezvous 
of  the  Roman  soldiers,  there  were  uneasiness,  fore- 
boding, and  sadness.  The  death  of  Jesus,  and  its 
terrible  concomitants,  formed  the  subject  of  thought 
with  all.  Premonitions  of  some  dire  catastrophe, 
connected  with  these  disturbances  in  nature,  alarmed 
many  a  soul;  between  the  conscience  and  the  judg- 


THE    BURIAL.  303 

ment  of  multitudes,  secret  intelligence  of  coming 
vengeance  passed;  passengers  to  and  from  the  house 
of  God  never  journeyed  in  greater  silence;  and  it 
was  a  day  of  melancholy  tlioughts  to  all. 

"The  way  of  transgressors  is  liard."  The  mur- 
derers of  Jesus  reaped  the  whirlwind.  The  cala- 
mities that  befel  the  Jews  are  faithfully  related  by 
their  own  historian.  The  connexion  of  those  ca- 
lamities with  the  death  of  the  Redeemer  is  certain. 
But  perhaps  even  now,  on  the  very  day  in  question, 
there  were  some  who  had  the  hardihood  to  trace  the 
miracles  which  took  place  at  the  crucifixion  to  the 
anger  of  God  against  Jesus  as  an  impostor;  who 
maintained  that  these  prodigies  justified  their  deed, 
and  proclaimed  that  those  who  were  the  most  active 
in  securing  the  destruction  of  Christ,  were  most 
meritorious  in  the  sight  of  heaven.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  thousand  proofs  that  he  was  the  chosen  of 
God,  they  would  attempt  to  silence  the  accusations 
of  conscience,  by  pointing  to  the  devastations  of 
the  earthquake  as  the  voice  of  God  confirmatory  of 
their  procedure.  The  depth  of  darkness  with  which 
habitual  crim.e  covers  the  human  understanding  is 
fearful  in  the  extreme.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
doubtless,  there  were  many  on  whose  hearts  salutary 
impressions  were  made,  and  which  resulted  in  the 
glorious  conversions  of  Pentecost  six  weeks  after. 
Not  a  few  would  be  awakened  to  inquiry  regarding 
the  past  history  of  Jesus;  and  the  thought  occur- 
ring that  he  might  possibly  be  the  Messiah,  notwith- 
standing the  wide  difference  between  the  popular 
belief  regarding  the  Messianic  reign,  and  the  actual 


304  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

history  of  the  crucified  one,  they  would  unroll  the 
books  of  the  prophets  to  ascertain  whether  the  re- 
ceived interpretation  were  the  true  one,  whether  it 
might  not  be  susceptible  of  alteration,  and  whether 
the  prophets  had  any  where  hinted  that  the  Messiah 
was  to  be  poor,  despised,  persecuted-,  and  slain. 
Such  investigation,  honestly  pursued,  would  inev- 
itably lead  to  the  conclusion  that,  at  least,  Jesus 
might  be  the  promised  Redeemer,  and  this  convic- 
tion once  received,  would  prepare  them  to  listen  to 
the  rumours  of  his  resurrection  which  startled  Jeru- 
salem on  the  following  day,  and  to  attend  to  every 
subsequent  movement  among  his  disciples,  until,  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  they  interrupted  the  eloquent 
discourse  of  Peter  with  the  earnest  cry,  "Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do?" 

In  looking  at  the  melancholy  thoughts  which  per- 
vaded the  breasts  both  of  the  friends  and  enemies  of 
Jesus,  during  the  time  that  his  body  lay  in  the  tomb 
of  Joseph,  we  cannot  omit  a  circumstance  of  much 
practical  value,  which  distinguished  the  former  from 
the  latter.  We  have  adverted  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  sadness  caused  by  disappointed  hopes, 
and  that  brought  on  the  heart  by  conscious  guilt; 
but  the  distinction  points  to  a  high  privilege  enjoyed 
by  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  from  which  his  foes  were 
debarred  as  long  as  their  henious  sins  were  unre- 
pented  of.  We  refer  to  "the  throne  of  grace." 
The  tried  and  sorrowing  disciples  could  pour  out 
their  hearts  before  God:  individually  and  unitedly 
they  coxxXd  pray !  And  surehj  at  such  a  time,  and 
under  such  mysterious  circumstances,  this  invaluable 


THE    BURIAL.  305 

privilege  would  be  prized!  Before  the  God  of 
Abraliam,  wlioso  authority  llicy  had  obeyed  in  hear- 
ing iiis  Soil,  they  could  spread  out  their  souls.  To 
them  all  was  mystery;  the  issue  of  these  events  they 
knew  not;  the  result  they  could  not  foresee;  but 
God  knew  all  things,  and  to  him  they  had  recourse. 
It  was  "the  hour  of  prayer,"  for  it  was  the  hour  of 
trouble  and  of  darkness;  and  the  promises  of  God 
in  liis  word,  always  valuable-,  are  felt  to  be  pecu- 
harly  so  in  the  time  of  deep  trial.  These  disciples 
knew  well  that  the  omniscient  God  foresaw  all  things, 
and  that  even  the  death  of  Christ  could  not  defeat 
his  mysterious  purposes  regarding  men,  whatever 
those  purposes  might  be.  Whilst  deeply  humbled, 
therefore,  on  account  of  their  own  un worthiness  and 
ignorance,  and  laid  prostrate  by  the  anguish  of  dis- 
appointment, they  would  derive  consolation  from  the 
remembrance  of  Jehovah's  faithfulness  to  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob;  the  God  of  their  fathers  could 
not  forsake  them^  and  though  he  might  see  fit  to 
plunge  them  amidst  deep  waters,  they  knew  that 
the  floods  should  not  overflow  them,  for  he  "  who 
cannot  lie,"  had  repeatedly  given  promises  to  that 
effect. 

But  how  could  the  guilty  conspirators  and  abettors 
in  the  death  of  Jesus  presume  to  invoke  the  conso- 
lations of  religion,  when  their  consciences  upbraided 
them  with  the  darkest  deed  of  which  the  annals  of 
crime  make  mention?  "If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my 
heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me,"'  is  a  permanent 
truth;  whilst,  therefore,  their  hands  were  red  with 
blood,  for  the  shedding  of  which  they  had  not  sought 

26^ 


306  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

forgiveness  amidst  deep  repentance,  the  effort  to 
obtain  peace  of  mind  by  attention  to  the  prescribed 
duties  of  religion,  must  have  been  a  failure.  The 
troubled  conscience  seeks  repose  in  Divine  mercy  in 
vain,  if  the  guilt  which  torments  it  be  not  confessed 
and  deplored,  with  shame  and  grief  Peace  cannot 
be  obtained,  if  the  guilt  which  renders  the  need  of 
that  peace  desirable  be  not  felt,  and  acknowledged, 
and  repented  of  There  is  no  merit  in  repentance  to 
lead  to  the  idea  that  peace  will  be  granted  for  its 
sake,  or  on  its  account;  but,  in  the  order  of  God's 
arrangements  for  the  benefit  of  his  sinful  creatures, 
he  has  enjoined  penitence  as  the  preliminary  of 
mental  composure.  Pardon  does  not  follow  repent- 
ance as  the  effect  follows  the  cause;  for  they  do  not 
bear  to  each  other  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect; 
but  still,  the  confession  of  sin,  is  essential  to  peace 
of  mind.  The  former  would  be  the  duty  of  the 
transgressor,  although  there  were  no  prospect  what- 
ever of  the  enjoyment  of  the  latter.  Hence,  if  he 
refuses  to  repent,  he  adds  stubbornness  to  iniquity, 
increases  the  amount  of  his  guilt,  and  excludes  him- 
self from  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessing  whose  need 
he  so  urgently  feels.  For  although  pardon — the 
forerunner  of  true  peace — does  not  bear  the  same 
relation  to  repentance  which  an  effect  does  to  its 
cause,  yet  it  has  pleased  God  so  to  connect  them,  in 
the  economy  of  grace,  that  the  truly  penitent  mind — 
that  is,  the  mind  which  deplores  and  forsakes  its 
sin,  hating  it  because  of  its  own  vileness,  and  on 
account  of  the  dishonour  which  it  does  to  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel — may  rest  satisfied   that   its  iniquities 


THE    BURIAL.  307 

will  be  blotted  out,  and  its  guilt  covered.  For- 
giveness, which  it  is  the  prerogative  of  God  to 
extend,  is  extended  to  men  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  offered  himself  on  Calvary,  a 
sacrifice  for  sin.  To  him,  therefore,  the  eye  of  the 
penitent  must  be  turned.  This  is  the  only  way  to 
get  rid  of  melancholy  thoughts. 


CHAPTER   XXn. 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK. 

THE    RESURRECTION. 

Long  ere  the  morning  snn  had  cast  his  first  beams 
oil  the  fruitful  laud  of  Israel,  or  aroused  the  inha- 
bitants of  Jerusalem  from  their  troubled  dreams,  au 
event  took  place  which  has  formed  the  theme  of  ex- 
ultatiou  to  the  children  of  God  for  more  than  eighteen 
centuries,  and  which  will  never  be  forgotten,  as  long 
as  the  human  mind  is  capable  of  appreciating  the 
glorious,  or  feeling  gratitude  for  the  beneficent.  The 
Saviour  of  mankind,  casting  aside  for  ever  the  bands 
of  death,  and  forsaking  the  gloom  of  the  grave, 
sprung  up  to  immortal  life  and  glory.  Having  Iain 
in  the  tomb  the  time  appointed  of  the  Father,  he 
left  the  dwellings  of  the  dead,  no  more  to  die;  for 
death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  The 
ransom  price  was  paid,  and  the  last  enemy  had  no 
further  claim.  Complete  satisfaction  was  rendered 
to  every  demand  of  justice;  and  the  Surety  of  his 
people,  having  tasted  the  bitterness  of  death,  awoke, 
arose  a  victor  over  death,  and  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death.  Having  magnified  the  law  and  made  it 
honourable,  and  finished  the  work  given  him  to  do; 
having  endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself,  and  suffered  the  agony  of  the  garden  and 


THE    PinST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK.  309 

the  cross;  and  having  slept  in  the  rocky  tomb  until 
the  dawning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he  who 
is  the  resurrection  and  the  hfe,  burst  those  gates 
wliich  had  never  been  opened  before,  shook  off  the 
frailties  of  niortahty,  and  arose  to  repossess  that  glory 
which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world 
was. 

"Blest  morning  I  whose  first  dawning  rays 
Beheld  the  Son  of  God 
Arise  triumphant  from  the  grave, 
And  leave  his  dark  abode. 

Wrapt  in  the  silence  of  the  tomb 

The  great  Redeemer  hiy, 
Till  the  revolving  skies  had  brought 

The  third,  the  appointed  day." 

But  before  we  name  some  of  those  thoughts  which 
are  suggested  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  it  will  be 
proper  to  recur  to  the  evangelic  narrative.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  we  opened  the  last  chapter  by 
a  reference  to  the  request  of  the  Jews,  that  Pilate 
would  give  orders  for  the  removal  of  the  bodies  from 
the  crosses.  This  request  being  complied  with,  they 
returned  to  their  dwellings,  or  to  the  temple,  to  pre- 
pare for  the  festivities  of  the  rapidly  approaching 
Sabbath.  But  guilt  is  restless.  For  on  "the  next 
day  that  followed  the  day  of  the  preparation,"  that 
is  to  say,  on  the  Jewish  sabbath  itself,  "the  chief 
priests  and  Pharisees,"  doubtless  members  of  the 
Sanhedrim,  went  in  a  body  to  Pilate,  and  addressed 
him  thus: — "Sir,  we  remember  that  that  deceiver 
said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  After  three  days,  I  will 
rise  again.     Command,  therefore,  that  the  sepulchre 


310  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH, 

be  made  sure  till  the  third  day,  lest  his  disciples 
come  by  night  and  steal  him  away,  and  say  unto  the 
people,  he  is  risen  from  the  dead:  so  the  last  error 
shall  be  worse  than  the  first,"  The  Roman  gover- 
nor, doubtless  anxious  to  get  rid  of  these  troublesome 
men,  immediately  replied,  "Ye  have  a  guard" — 
alluding  either  to  those  Roman  soldiers  who  kept 
watch  at  the  temple,  or  to  those  who  attended  the 
crucifixion,  and  who  were  probably  still  at  the  di- 
rection of  the  chief  priests — "go  your  way,  make 
the  sepulchre  as  secure  as  ye  can,"  Thus  authorized, 
they  proceeded  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers  to  the 
garden  of  Joseph,  "sealing  the  stone,  and  setting  a 
watch,"  Thus,  the  removal  of  the  body  by  human 
means  was  rendered  impossible  without  the  con- 
nivance of  the  guard,  and  the  breaking  of  the  seal. 

The  light  in  which  these  transactions  place  the 
Jewish  rulers  is  exceedingly  humiliating  to  human 
nature.  It  shows  them  to  have  been  agitated  by 
dark  passions.  Guilt  on  the  conscience  creates  fear 
and  apprehension  in  the  heart;  and  having  entered 
on  a  course  of  unparalleled  crime,  they  appear  to 
have  been  resolved  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  the 
resurrection  of  tlie  crucified  one,  which  they  began 
to  fear  might  take  place,  seeing  that  he,  whom, 
notwithstanding,  they  impiously  called  a  deceiver, 
had  said  so.  But  here,  again,  the  free  agency  of 
wicked  men  subserves  the  purposes  of  God,  and  adds 
to  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of  that  event,  which 
they  wished  above  all  things  to  prevent.  The  mi- 
racles attending  the  resurrection  must  be  witnessed 
by  others  than  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  the  Jewish 
priests,  his  most  deadly  enemies,  procure  a  guard  of 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK.  311 

]vonian  soldiers,  not  for  this  purpose  in  theb^  design, 
but  for  this  purpose  in  the  design  of  God. 

For  thus  the  narrative  proceeds: — "In  the  end  of 
the  Sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  toward  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene,  and  the 
other  Mary,  to  see  the  sepulchre.  And,  behold,  there 
was  a  great  earthquake:  for  the  Angel  of  the  Lord 
descended  from  heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  back 
the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon  it.  His 
countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment 
white  as  snow:  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did 
shake,  and  became  as  dead  men."  Passing  over 
some  intervening  circumstances  related  by  the  his- 
torian, we  find  that  when  the  terrified  soldiers  had 
recovered  in  some  measure  from  the  consternation 
into  which  they  had  been  thrown,  they  hastened  to 
the  city  to  the  chief  priests,  and  reported  all  that 
had  happened.  "And  thus,"  as  has  been  well  re- 
marked, "these  ignorant  and  stupid  heathens  became 
in  efiect  the  first  preachers  of  Christ's  resurrection, 
and  were  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  it  to  the  most  in- 
veterate of  his  enemies."  Mark  here  the  wisdom 
of  God.  Intelligence  of  the  feared  resurrection 
would  have  reached  the  ears  of  the  Jewish  rulers 
through  other  channels,  but  coming,  as  it  did,  from 
the  lips  of  the  very  men  whom  they  had  appointed 
to  prevent  that  occurrence,  it  is  full  of  moral  signi- 
ficance. 

In  this  perplexing  emergency,  the  chief  priests 
immediately  summoned  a  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
not  to  take  counsel  on  the  propriety  of  publishing  a 
recantation  of  their  error  in  having  so  long  refused 
credence  to  the  proofs  of  Christ's  Messiahship,  but 


312  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

to  determine  on  some  mode  of  preventing  the  circu- 
lation of  the  report  of  his  resurrection.  With  this 
,view,  they  agreed  to  bribe  the  soldiers  by  a  large 
sum  of  money  to  publish  a  lie,  instructing  them  to 
say,  "His  disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him 
away  while  we  slept."  And  to  induce  the  soldiers 
to  comply  with  this  infamous  proposal,  they  added, 
'•And  if  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will 
persuade  him  and  secure  you."  Men  without  prin- 
ciple are  easily  influenced  to  commit  crime  if  a  pecu- 
niary gratification  be  held  out  as  its  price;  for  the 
love  of  money  is  the  ruling  passion  in  the  majority 
of  minds.  But  Roman  soldiers,  whose  standard  of 
morality  was  exceedingly  low,  being  nothing  better 
than  absolute  obedience  to  those  who  had  command 
over  them,  could  not  be  expected  to  raise  any  moral 
objection  to  the  request  of  the  priests;  consequently, 
"they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  taught: 
and  this  saying  is  commonly  reported  among  the 
Jews  until  this  day." 

But  the  report  is  false,  for  "the  Lord  is  risen 
indeed."  The  evidence  in  favour  of  the  resurrection 
of  Messiah  is  of  the  strongest  kind;  and  this  fact, 
which  will  claim  our  attention  in  the  next  chapter, 
illustrates  remarkably  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God.  For  it  is  obvious  on  the  slightest  thought,  that 
the  truth  of  the  report  that  one  had  risen  from  the 
dead  was  so  incredible,  that  nothing  short  of  the  most 
convincing  proof  to  that  effect  could  have  warranted 
men  to  believe  it.  It  was  contrary  to  experience. 
There  were  antecedent  arguments  of  a  strong  kind 
against  it.  Unbelief  on  the  point  was  justified  by 
many  considerations.     To  believe  it  simply  on  report 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK.  313 

and  without  evidence,  would  have  been  weakness. 
The  announcernent  required  evidence  sufficient  to 
bear  the  severest  test,  and  God  graciously  furnished 
the  necessary  proof.  On  the  fact  of  the  resurrection 
depended  not  only  the  progress  of  Christianity,  but 
its  very  existence.  If  this  could  not  be  satisfactorily 
ascertained,  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  Messiahship  would 
be  set  aside;  he  would  be  declared  an  impostor,  and 
ranked  with  the  "many  false  Christs"  that  troubled 
the  Jewish  nation.  However  difficult  it  might  be 
to  get  rid  of  the  evidence  to  the  contrary,  arising  from 
his  holy  life,  and  beneficent  conduct,  and  amazing 
miracles — and  the  difficulty  would  have  been  insur- 
mountable on  ordinary  principles — had  he  remained 
in  the  grave  and  "seen  corruption,"  those  who  de- 
nominated him  a  deceiver  would  have  been  justified 
in  their  opinion.  Ancient  prophecy  pointed  to  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should 
follow,  and  gave  many  glowing  descriptions  of  the 
happiness  to  be  enjoyed  by  men  under  his  everlasting 
reign.  Jesus  himself  assured  his  disciples  that  he 
should  rise  from  the  dead;  now,  as  it  is  evident  that 
had  he  not  risen,  these  predictions  would  have  been 
falsified,  so  it  is  clear  that,  in  such  a  case,  his  doc- 
trines, however  valuable,  would  have  fallen  to  the 
ground  as  the  announcements  of  one  who  had  failed 
•in  the  most  important  point  to  be  established.  The 
non-accomplishment  of  prediction  on  a  subject  so 
very  extraordinary,  as  from  its  very  nature  to  draw 
the  attention  of  his  enemies  to  the  place  of  burial, 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  removal  of  the 
body,  would  have  been  disastrous  in  the  extreme. 
The  hateful  political  maxim  of  Caiaphas  would  have 

27 


314  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

been  lauded  as  the  acme  of  wisdom,  and  henceforth 
no  man's  Hfe  would  have  been  secure,  as  any  in- 
dividual who  ventured  to  propound  doctrines  dis- 
agreeable to  the  ruling  powers,  would  have  been 
sacrificed  for  "the  good  of  the  nation."  Accusations 
and  murders  would  have  followed;  and  a  reign  of 
terror  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  most  abject  slavery 
on  the  other,  would  have  characterized  Judea.  The 
distinction  between  good  and  evil  would  have  been 
lost,  for  the  spotless  character,  and  sublime  miracles, 
and  benevolent  history  of  Jesus,  would  have  become 
associated  in  the  popular  mind  with  the  history  of 
a  notorious  deceiver;  and  no  argument  from  moral 
excellence  could  have  shielded  any  man  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  party  in  power,  if  he  was  even 
suspected  of  the  crime  of  independent  thought.  And, 
at  the  same  time,  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  disappointed, 
persecuted,  powerless — having  nothing  to  justify  their 
faith  but  the  history  of  their  Master,  which,  for  the 
reason  mentioned,  could  avail  nothing — and  embit- 
tered in  spirit,  would  have  been  driven,  humanly 
speaking,  into  a  labyrinth  of  unbelief  and  consequent 
wretchedness.  The  hopes  of  all  who  looked  to  Jesus 
for  redemption  would  have  been  for  ever  blasted, 
and  the  moral  world  would  have  been  covered  with 
the  pall  of  death.  For,  as  we  have  seen,  had  Jesus 
not  risen  from  the  dead,  he  could  not  have  been  the 
Messiah;  and,  as  we  shall  just  endeavour  to  show, 
there  are  reasons  which  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that 
no  one  else  could  at  any  subsequent  period  appear 
under  that  character  with  credentials  in  harmony 
with  the  character  of  God. 

Assuming  Jesus   to  have   been   the   Messiah,   the 


THE    FIRST    DAV    OF    THE    WEEK.  315 

advocates  of  this  opinion  might  have  justified  their 
faith  ill  him  by  a  reference  to  the  moral  argnment. 
The  character  of  God  was  revealed.  The  cliarac- 
ter  of  Jesus  corresponded  with  that  revelation.  Je- 
hovah was  holy.  So  was  Jesus.  He  was  compas- 
sionate. So  was  Jesus.  He  was  long-suffering.  So 
was  Jesus.  He  had  power  over  nature.  So  had 
Jesus.  He  could  heal  diseases.  So  could  Jesus.  He 
could  forgive  sins.  So  could  Jesus.  He  could  re- 
strain demons.  So  could  Jesus.  He  could  raise  the 
dead.  So  could  Jesus.  So  that,  without  insisting 
in  the  first  instance  on  the  Messiah's  divine  equal- 
ity with  the  Father,  they  could  insist  on  the  moral 
harmony  between  the  character  and  prerogatives  of 
the  God  of  Israel,  and  those  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
They  might  elaborate  this  argument.  It  was  capable 
of  being  presented  under  a  variety  of  lights.  True, 
this  argument  clashed  with  the  popular  belief;  but 
the  popular  belief  was  inimical  to  Scripture,  and  the 
moral  argument  in  question  required  only  to  be  well 
conducted  in  order  entirely  to  shake  it.  It  might 
have  been  presented  thus: — We  expect  the  Messiah, 
a  Redeemer  and  King.  God  has  promised  to  ac- 
complish the  greatest  good  by  him;  but  as  the  power 
to  effect  great  good  is  not  necessarily  connected  with 
earthly  grandeur,  is  it  not  possible  that  the  Messiah 
may  be  destitute  of  those  characteristics  of  regal 
greatness  with  which  in  idea  we  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  associating  him?  The  accomplishment  of 
the  greatest  good  involves  power  over  the  greatest 
evil.  Now,  what  is  the  greatest  evil  which  afflicts 
us?  Judged  by  the  Divine  character,  with  which 
the  character  of  the  chosen  Messiah  must  correspond, 


316  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

our  greatest  evil  is  of  a  moral  nature — it  is  sin.  But 
the  possession  of  power  to  redeem  from  sin,  does  not 
involve  the  idea  of  earthly  greatness — the  greatness 
Avith  wliich  we  have  expected  the  Messiah  to  be  in- 
vested. Moreover,  the  royal  authority  of  the  pro- 
mised One  is  to  remain  for  ever.  This  of  itself 
settles  the  question  as  to  the  dissimilarity  between 
his  sovereignty  and  any  kind  of  earthly  royalty  with 
which  we  are  acquainted.  If  he  is  to  live  for  ever 
on  earth,  he  must  be  superhuman,  and  the  charac- 
teristics of  his  sceptre  will  be  as  far  above  those  of 
earthly  kings  as  his  nature  will  be  above  theirs.  Our 
preconceptions,  then,  are  likely  to  be  erroneous,  for 
we  have  no  precedent,  no  example  of  a  deathless 
Sovereign.  But  as  the  Messiah  is  to  be  the  greatest 
of  all  kings,  what  if  it  be  intended  that  his  authority 
is  to  be  over  mind,  the  most  important  part  of  God's 
creation?  What  if  he  is  to  be  a  spiritual  Sovereign? 
If  so,  he  will  be  undoubtedly  the  greatest  of  all 
rulers,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords;  and 
he  can  mantain  his  authority  over  mind  without 
prolonging  existence  in  this  changing  world  in  a 
human  form.  But  Jesus  of  Nazareth  gave  evidence 
that  he  possessed  every  moral  qualification  for  the 
office  of  Messiah.  He  was  holy,  wise,  powerful, 
his  doctrines  were  fitted  to  subdue  mind  to  his  au- 
thority. His  life  corresponded  with  the  law  of  God. 
He  wielded  a  power  which  no  impostor  could  have 
possessed.  He  was  invested  with  a  glory  superior  to 
any  that  ever  fell  on  earthly  kings.  These  are  con- 
siderations much  stronger  in  favour  of  his  being  the 
Messiah,  than  any  that  can  be  furnished  against  this 
conclusion,  from  the  fact  that  his  appearance  was  at 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK.  317 

variance  with  our  expectations.  And  now,  if  we  re- 
fuse to  receive  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  he  is  an  impostor,  wliat  kind  of  evidence 
will  tlie  true  Messiah  furnish  wlien  he  appears,  that 
shall  satisfy  the  minds  of  our  countrymen?  Is  he  to 
be  a  great  warrior?  This  would  be  at  variance  both 
with  the  character  of  God  and  the  predictions  of  our 
prophets;  but  the  true  Messiah  must  assimilate  to 
the  one  and  accomplish  the  other.  Is  he  to  work 
miracles?  It  is  impossible  to  perform  any  that  shall 
surpass  those  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  What  creden- 
tials of  Messiahship  can  he  produce  stronger  than 
those  already  produced  by  him  whom  our  rulers  have 
put  to  death?  The  moral  argument  is  conclusive, 
and  our  preconceptions  are  therefore  fallacious. 

The  advocates  of  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  Messiah- 
ship  might  have  taken  some  such  ground  as  this,  we 
say;  and,  undoubtedly,  whatever  amount  of  priestly 
malice  and  popular  clamour  might  have  assailed 
them,  they  would  have  been  borne  out  in  their  con- 
clusions by  the  facts  of  the  case.  Jesus  possessed 
exactly  those  qualifications  which  are  essential  to  a 
spiritual  Saviour,  and  an  universal  king,  and  his  re- 
surrection from  the  dead  was  the  perfecting  evidence, 
the  final  proof  that  he  was  the  true  Messiah.  No 
additional  testimony  Vv'as  necessary:  and  the  mind  of 
man  is  incapable  of  receiving  any  of  a  higher  kind. 
He  who  will  not  believe  on  him  who  rose  from  the 
dead,  cannot  be  convinced  by  evidence.  A  voice 
from  heaven  is,  in  several  respects,  inferior  to  this. 
It  is  enough.  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  be- 
come the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept. 

The  resurrection  of  Jesus  secures  that  of  all  his 
21^ 


318  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

saints.  He  rose  as  their  victorious  Lord  and  Re- 
deemer, their  surety,  their  forerunner,  their  Head. 
His  empty  tomb  guarantees  that  theirs  too  shall  be 
forsaken  in  due  time.  He  will  not  leave  under  the 
power  of  the  grave  those  for  whom  he  gave  him- 
self. "  If  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  believe  that 
we  shall  also  live  with  him."  Jesus  is  "  the  first 
begotten  of  the  dead,"  and,  therefore,  blessed  are 
"the  dead  in  Christ!" 

Whatever  difficulties  we  may  suggest  connected 
with  the  subject  of  a  general  resurrection— and  if  we 
consult  merely  our  own  reasonings,  those  difficulties 
will  appear  insurmountably  great — must  find  their 
solution  in  the  fact  that  our  Saviour  rose  from  the 
dead.  Divine  power  is  not  confined  to  those  rules 
of  procedure  which  the  human  intellect  would  lay 
down  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  great  work. 
Our  Lord  himself  met  the  scepticism  of  the  Sad- 
ducees  on  the  point,  thus: — "Ye  do  err,  not  know- 
ing the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God."  This 
ought  to  be  deemed  a  satisfactory  reply  to  all  doubt 
on  the  important  subject  of  the  general  resurrection. 
God  can  eti'ect  it.  He  has  said  that  he  ivill  do  so. 
The  resurrection  of  Jesus  proves  that  it  may  be  glo- 
riously done. 

The  resurrection  of  Jesus  was  a  signal  triumph 
over  death.  It  was  a  victory  over  the  last  enemy, 
such  as  to  prove  that  our  Lord  is  Master  of  the  in- 
visible world,  and  that  the  king  of  terrors  is  under 
the  control  of  the  great  Mediator; — the  mediatorial 
system  embracing,  as  it  does,  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
saints,  as  well  as  their  souls,  sends  its  glorious  influ- 
ence into  the  regions  of  death,  and  compels  that  foe 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OF    THE    WEEK.  319 

that  has  spread  dismay  through  the  human  race  ever 
since  sin  entered  our  world,  to  do  homage  to  him 
who  upholds  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power, 
and  regulates  the  movements  of  mind  and  matter 
for  the  benefit  of  his  redeemed  Church.  "Of  this 
doctrine,"  says  D wight,  "not  a  trace  can  be  found 
in  all  the  investigations  of  philosophy.  Paul,  when 
declaring  it  to  the  Athenian  philosophers,  was  pro- 
nounced by  them  to  be  a  babbler.  It  was,  there- 
fore, a  doctrine  unknown  and  unheard  of  within  the 
purlieus  of  their  science.  No  philosopher,  to  that 
time,  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  light  upon  it  by 
accident,  nor  so  ingenious  as  to  derive  it  from 
reason.  Indeed,  it  must  be  acknowledged  to  lie  be- 
yond the  reach  of  reason:  and,  in  its  very  nature, 
to  be  hidden  from  the  most  scrutinizing  human  in- 
quiry. The  resurrection  itself  is  an  event  depend- 
ing absolutely  on  the  will  as  well  as  on  the  power 
of  God;  and  what  he  will  choose  to  do  with  respect 
to  this  subject,  no  being  but  himself  can  determine. 
Yet  no  doctrine  devised  by  philosophy  concerning 
man  is  so  sublime,  so  delightful,  or  so  fitted  to  fur- 
nish consolation  and  hope  to  beings  whose  life  in  this 
Avorld  is  a  moment,  and  whose  end  is  the  grave. 
To  this  dark  and  desolate  habitation,  man,  by  the 
twilight  of  nature,  looks  forward  in  despair,  as  his 
final  home.  All  who  have  gone  before  him  have 
pointed  their  feet  to  its  silent  chambers,  and  not  one 
of  them  returned,  to  announce  that  an  opening  has 
been  discovered  from  their  dreary  residence,  to  some 
other  more  lightsome  and  more  desirable  region. 
His  own  feet  daily  tread  the  same  melancholy  path. 
As  he  draws  nigh,  he  surveys  its  prison  walls,  and 


320  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

sees  them  unassailable  by  force,  and  insurmountable 
by  skill.  No  lamp  illumines  the  midnight  within. 
No  crevice  opens  to  the  eye  a  glimpse  of  the  regions 
which  lie  beyond.  In  absolute  despair  he  calls  upon 
philosophy  to  cheer  his  drooping  mind;  but  he  calls 
in  vain.  She  has  no  consolations  for  herself;  and 
can,  therefore,  administer  none  to  him.  'Here,'  she 
coldly  and  sullenly  cries,  'is  the  end  of  man.  From 
nothing  he  sprang;  to  nothing  he  returns.  All  that 
remains  of  him  is  the  dust,  which  here  mingles  with 
its  native  earth.'  At  this  sullen  moment  of  des- 
pair, revelation  approaches,  and  with  a  command  at 
once  awful  and  delightful,  exclaims, 'Lazarus,  come 
forth!'  In  a  moment  the  earth  heaves,  the  tomb 
discloses,  and  a  form  bright  as  the  sun,  and  arrayed 
in  immortality,  rises  from  the  earth,  and  stretching 
its  wings  towards  heaven,  loses  itself  from  the  aston- 
ished sight." 

And  surely  the  acceptance  of  the  sacrifice  offered 
on  Calvary  is  proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice,  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead.  He  who  be- 
came the  substitute  of  man,  whose  sin  had  brought 
death  into  our  world,  would  not  have  been  liberated 
from  the  dark  regions  of  death,  had  his  offering 
been  rejected,  or  had  his  sacrifice  been  incomplete. 
But  the  cry,  "It  is  finished,"  which  fell  from  his 
lips  on  the  cross,  was  echoed  through  the  universe 
early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  by  his  resur- 
rection. 

"And  did  he  rise  ? 
Hear,  O  ye  nations  I  hear  it,  Oye  dead! 
He  rose,  he  rose !  he  burst  the  bars  of  death. 
Lift  up  your  heads,  yo  everlasting  gates, 
And  give  the  King  of  glory  to  come  in. 


THE    FIRST    DAY    OP    THE    WEEK.  321 

Who  is  the  King  of  glory  ?     He  who  left, 
His  throne  of  glory  for  the  pangs  of  death. 
Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  everlasting  gates, 
And  give  the  King  of  glory  to  come  in. 
Who  is  the  King  of  glory?     He  who  slew 
The  ravenous  foe  that  gorged  all  human  race  ! 
The  King  of  glory  he,  whose  glory  filled 
Heaven  with  amazement  at  his  love  to  man, 
And  with  divine  complacency  beheld 
Powers  most  illumined  'wildered  in  the  theme." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


GALILEE. 


THE     EVIDENCE     COMPLETE. 


After  the  celebration  of  the  last  passover,  Jesus 
said  to  his  disciples,  "All  ye  shall  be  offended  be- 
cause of  me  this  night:  for  it  is  written,  I  will  smite 
the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  shall  be 
scattered  abroad.  But  after  I  am  risen  again,  I 
will  go  before  you  into  Galilee."  When  Mary 
Magdalene  and  her  companions  visited  the  sepulchre 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
and  found  not  the  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  their 
minds  were  greatly  agitated.  The  stone  had  been 
removed  by  an  angel,  and  they  entered  into  the 
sepulchre.  Whilst  wondering  at  the  unaccountable 
absence  of  the  body,  their  astonishment  was  increased 
by  the  sudden  presence  of  "two  angels  in  shining 
garments."  Terrified  at  this  extraordinary  circum- 
stance, they  fixed  their  eyes  upon  the  ground,  and 
stood  in  profound  silence;  but  one  of  the  celestial 
messengers  said  to  them,  "Be  not  terrified,  for  I 
know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  who  was  crucified.  He  is 
not  here,  but  is  risen,  as  he  said.  Remember  how 
he  spake  unto  you,  when  he  was  yet  in  Galilee, 
saying,  'The  Son  of  Man  must  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  sinful  men,  and  be  crucified,  and  the  third 


GALILEE,  323 

(Jny  rise  again.'  Go  quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples 
that  he  is  risen  from  the  dead;  and,  behold,  he 
goeth  before  yon  into  Galilee,  there  shall  ye  see 
him,  as  he  said  imto  you:  lo,  I  have  told  you." 
On  hearing  this  wonderful  statement,  these  honoured 
and  excellent  females  "fled  from  the  sepulchre," 
amazed  and  trembling,  but  with  hearts  full  of  un- 
utterable joy;  and,  with  the  speed  which  these  emo- 
tions were  fitted  to  produce,  they  ran  to  inform  the 
disciples  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard.  But 
greater  joy  awaited  them.  Their  cup  of  bliss  was 
not  yet  full.  Their  solicitude  about  the  Saviour  was 
not  unnoticed,  and  could  not  pass  unrewarded.  For 
"as  they  went  to  tell  his  disciples,  behold,  Jesus 
met  them,  saying.  All  hail!  And  they  came  and 
held  him  by  the  feet,  and  worshipped  him.  Then 
said  Jesus  unto  them,  Be  not  afraid:  go  tell  my 
brethren  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall 
they  see  me." 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  occupy  space  by  a  par- 
ticular reference  to  all  the  interviews  Avhich  Jesus 
had  with  individuals,  or  with  parties  of  his  disciples 
after  his  resurrection,  as  the  sacred  record,  happily, 
is  in  the  hands  of  all.  It  may  be  well,  however, 
before  taking  a  retrospect  of  the  evidences  of  his 
Messiahship,  to  cite  Paul's  summary  of  his  appear- 
ances after  that  glorious  event.  Writing  to  "the 
Church  of  God,  at  Corinth,"  this  Apostle  says,  "I 
delivered  unto  you,  first  of  all,  that  which  I  also 
received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  according 
to  the  Scriptures ;  and  that  he  was  buried,  and  that 
he  rose  again  the  third  day  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures: and  that  he  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the 


324  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

twelve;  after  that  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hun- 
dred brethren  at  once;  of  whom  the  greater  part 
remain  unto  this  present,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep. 
After  that  he  was  seen  of  James,  then  of  all  the 
Apostles.  And  last  of  all  he  was  seen  of  me  also, 
as  of  one  born  out  of  due  time." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Paul,  once  and  again, 
states  that  the  experience  of  Jesus  was  "according 
to  the  Scriptures."  The  inspiration  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament writings  was  with  him  the  starting  point, 
an  ascertained,  a  credited,  a  certain  fact.  On  this 
subject  there  was  no  dispute,  no  hesitancy,  no 
mental  misgiving.  It  was  a  settled  and  positive 
verity.  God  had  spoken  by  the  prophets.  Now, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  of  the 
prophets.  If  this  claim  were  just,  there  would  be 
accordancy  between  the  predicted  character  and  work 
of  Messiah,  and  those  of  Jesus.  Was  the  Jesus  of 
the  Gospel  the  Messiah  of  the  prophets?  This  was 
the  question.  The  writers  of  the  former  declared 
that  he  was.  Whence  their  evidence?  Set  aside 
the  fact  of  their  inspiration  at  present;  put  it  out  of 
court  for  the  sake  of  argument,  and  still  we  main- 
tain that  the  validity  of  the  claims  of  Jesus  could  be 
ascertained  by  them.  They  had  the  delineations  of 
the  Messianic  character  and  work,  from  the  pens  of 
men  who  "spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  They  had  also  ample  knowledge  of  the 
character  exhibited,  and  the  work  performed,  by 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Did  the  latter  correspond  with 
the  former?  Was  there  perfect  agreement?  This 
they  could  ascertain  by  comparison.      The   picture 


GALILEE.  325 

had  been  drawn  centuries  before.  A  poor  man,  born 
in  an  obscure  town  of  Judea,  professed  to  be  the 
original.  Tliose  who  knew  him,  and  who  had  that 
picture  in  their  possession,  could  judge  for  them- 
selves, just  in  the  same  way  that  ive  can  judge  by- 
comparing  the  prophecy  regarding  Messiah  with  the 
history  of  Jesus.  We  open  the  book  of  the  prophets, 
assured  that  it  is  inftpired;  and  we  open  the  his- 
tory of  Jesus,  given  by  four  men  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  moral  integrity,  convinced  that  their  nar- 
rative is  true — simply  true,  without  the  aid  of  the 
argument  from  inspiration  at  present,  and  we  com- 
pare them,  and  the  result  of  that  comparison  is  a 
settled  conviction  that  the  Jesus  of  the  Gospels  is 
the  Messiah  of  the  prophets.  We  shall  take  a  rapid 
survey  of  the  mode  in  which  any  intelligent  man 
might  proceed  in  this  investigation. 

Seven  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  prophet  Micah  announced  that  the 
"  Ruler  in  Israel"  should  be  born  in  Bethlehem. 
This  designation  the  Jews  perfectly  understood  to 
apply  to  the  Messiah.  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem; 
but  not  by  the  wish  of  his  mother  and  her  husband. 
This  was  not  their  place  of  residence.  Nazareth,  in 
Galilee,  was  the  home  of  Joseph  and  Mary;  and 
they  had  gone  to  Bethlehem,  not  by  choice,  not  by 
previous  arrangement,  but  in  consequence  of  a  pro- 
clamation from  the  Roman  Emperor,  that  the  cen- 
sus of  Palestine,  now  subject  to  his  sceptre,  should 
be  taken,  and  Joseph  went  thither  to  be  enrolled, 
because  it  was  the  home  of  his  ancestors.  It  was 
a  case  of  compulsion.     They   were   obliged  to  go. 

28 


326  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

Thus  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  bom  in  the  town  for 
which  the  honour  of  being  the  birth-place  of  Messiah 
was  reserved. 

"I  will  declare  the  decree,"  said  the  prophet, 
"the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this 
day  have  I  begotten  thee."  "He  shall  be  great," 
said  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Mary,  respecting  the  child 
Jesus,  "and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest: 
and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne 
of  his  father  David."  "We  beheld  his  glory,  the 
glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of 
grace  and  truth,"  says  the  historian  John. 

Isaiah  prophesied  the  birth  and  character  of  the 
Messiah,  thus: 

"For  unto  us  a  child  is  born;  unto  us  a  Son  is  given; 
And  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder; 
And  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
The  mighty  God,  the  Father  of  the  everlasting  age; 
the  Prince  of  Peace." 

Of  Jesus,  the  angel  spoke  to  the  Jewish  shepherds 
tlius: — "Unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of 
David,  a  Saviour,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord;"  and  the 
evangelist  John  writes  thus: — "In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God.  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us."  Fourteen  centuries  before 
the  birth  of  Jesus,  God  said  to  Moses: — "I  will 
raise  them  up  a  prophet  from  among  their  brethren, 
like  unto  thee,  and  will  put  my  Avords  in  his  mouth; 
and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all  that  I  commajid 
him."  "He  that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all," 
said  John  the  Baptist,  regarding  Jesus,  "and  what 
he  hath   seen  and    heard  that    he  testifieth;    for  he 


GALILEE.  327 

whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God." 
And  Jesus  himself  said  to  the  Jdws,  "My  doctrine 
is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me.  I  have  not  spoken 
of  myself;  but  the  Father  who  sent  me,  he  gave  me 
a  commandment,  what  I  should  say,  and  what  I 
should  speak.  All  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my 
Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you."  David 
wrote  thus  concerning  the  Messiah: — "Lo,  I  come: 
in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  I  de- 
Hght  to  do  thy  will,  0,  my  God;  yea,  thy  law  is 
within  my  heart."  Jesus  said  to  his  hearers,  "I 
came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own  will, 
but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me.  My  meat  is  lo 
do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his 
work."     Isaiah  pointed  to  the  Messiah  thus: 

"  Who  hath  believed  our  report ; 
And  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of  Jehovah  been  manifested  ? 
For  he  groweth  up  in  their  sight  lilie  a  tender  plant; 
And  like  a  root  from  a  thirsty  soil : 

He  hath  no  form,  nor  any  beauty,  that  we  should  regard  him  ; 
Nor  is  his  countenanee  such  that  we  should  desire  him. 
Despised,  nor  accounted  in  the  number  of  men; 
A  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief; 
As  one  that  hideth  his  face  from  us  : 
He  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not." 

Every  reader  of  the  Gospels  knows  that  the  ex- 
perience of  Jesus  corresponded  with  this  prediction, 
and  it  is  therefore  needless  to  quote  passages  in 
proof.  Messiah  was  pointed  out  by  the  prophet 
thus: 

"The  Spirit  of  Jehovah  shall  rest  upon  him; 
Tlie  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding; 
The  spirit  of  counsel  and  strength. 
The  spirit  of  tiie  knowledge  and  the  fear  of  Jehovah." 


328  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

And  again: 

"Behold  my  servant  whom  I  uphold; 
My  chosen,  in  whom  my  soul  dclighteth, 
I  will  make  my  Spirit  rest  upon  him; 
And  he  shall  publish  judgment  to  the  nations." 

The  historian  tells  us,  that  a  voice  from  heaven 
said  of  Jesus,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased,"  that  the  Spirit  of  God  descended 
and  abode  npon  him,  that  he  was  anointed  with 
the  Spirit  above  measure,  and  that  his  wisdom  and 
understanding  astonished  all  who  heard  him.  It 
was  predicted  that  the  Messiah  should  preach  good 
tidings  to  the  poor,  heal  the  broken-hearted,  pro- 
claim liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the 
prison  to  tliem  that  were  bound.  Jesus  did  all  this. 
It  was  predicted  that  Messiah  should  give  sight  to 
the  blind,  and  speech  to  the  dumb,  and  hearing  to 
the  deaf  Jesus  did  all  this.  It  was  predicted  that 
Messiah  should  be  despised,  betrayed,  rejected,  spit 
upon,  mocked,  and  put  to  death.  All  this  took 
place  in  the  case  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  It  was  pre- 
dicted that  Messiah's  garments  should  be  parted, 
and  lots  cast  upon  his  vesture.  John  says,  "Then 
the  soldiers,  when  they  had  crucified  Jesus,  took 
his  garments,  and  made  four  parts,  to  every  soldier 
a  part;  and  also  his  coat:  now  the  coat  was  with- 
out seam,  woven  from  tlie  top  throughout.  They 
said  therefore  among  themselves,  Let  us  not  rend 
it,  but  cast  lots  for  it,  whose  it  shall  be."  These 
soldiers  were,  of  course,  utterly  ignorant  that  by 
this  conduct  they  were  fulfilling  prophecy.  Isaiah 
predicts: 


GALILEE.  329 

"And  his  grave  was  appointed  with  the  wicked; 
But  with  the  ricli  man  was  his  tomb." 

Jesus  was  crucified  between  two  thieves,  and 
would  have  been  buried  with  them,  had  not  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  "a  rich  man,"  begged  his  body  from 
the  governor,  and  "laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb." 
It  was  predicted  that  the  Messiah  should  have  gall 
and  vinegar  presented  to  him.  These  were  pre- 
sented to  Jesus  on  the  cross.  It  was  predicted  of 
Messiah,  "All  they  that  see  me,  laugh  me  to  scorn: 
ihey  shoot  out  the  lip,  they  shake  the  head,  saying, 
He  trusted  in  the  Lord  that  he  would  deliver  him: 
let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delighted  in  him." 
The  historians  record  of  Jesus  that,  whilst  on  the 
cross,  "  They  that  passed  by  railed  on  him,  wagging 
their  heads,  and  saying,  Ah!  thou  that  destroyest 
the  temple  and  buildest  it  in  three  days,  save  thyself, 
and  come  down  from  the  cross.  The  soldiers  also 
mocked  him  saying.  If  thou  be  the  king  of  the 
Jews,  save  thyself.  Likewise,  also,  the  chief  priests: 
If  he  be  the  king  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down 
from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted 
in  God,  let  him  deliver  him  now,  if  he  will  have 
him."  And  it  was  predicted  that  Messiah  should 
be  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living;  but  that  his 
flesh  should  rest  in  hope,  that  he  should  not  see 
corruption,  and  that  he  should  prolong  his  days. 
Jesus  was  put  to  death  by  wicked  hands;  and  the 
historians  tell  us,  that  he  rose  again  the  third  day 
according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  "he  showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infallible 
proofs,   being  seen  of  the   apostles    forty  days,  and 

28* 


330  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

These  few  specimens  of  accordance  between  the 
prophetic  Scriptures  regarding  Messiah,  and  the 
history  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  professed  himself 
tlie  Messiah,  might  be  muhiplied  a  hundred  fold. 
And,  as  already  remarked,  the  only  inference  that 
can  be  drawn  from  an  intelligent  comparison  of  these 
and  similar  prophecies  with  the  history  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  is,  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  And,  we 
repeat,  this  comparison  may  be  instituted  by  any 
man.  It  needs  not  inspiration;  it  needs  not  even 
piety,  to  compare  these  two  documents;  bad  men 
have  done  it,  and  have  been  convinced,  both  of  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  and  of  their  need  of  salvation 
by  him. 

But  now  we  recall  what,  for  the  sake  of  illustration, 
was  temporarily  ceded.  The  historians  of  the  gospel 
were  not  only  men  of  integrity,  and  whose  statements 
may  therefore  be  relied  upon  as  true ;  but  they  were 
also  inspired  men — men  under  the  infallible  guidance 
of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and  whose  statements  there- 
fore are  not  only  unerringly  t7'ue,  but  authoritative. 
Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  not  merely  because  his  life  and 
death  accomplished  prophecy;  but  he  is  the  Messiah 
because  his  inspired  apostles  say  so.  Inspired  pro- 
phecy regarding  the  promised  Messiah  is  fulfilled  in 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  inspired  historians  record 
those  facts  which  prove  at  once  this  fulfilment  and 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  Here  is  a  double  guaran- 
tee for  accuracy — a  twofold  use  of  inspiration.  Well 
might  Peter  say,  "We  have  not  followed  cunning- 
ly devised  fables!"      All  is  certain.      Everytiiing  is 


GALILEE.  331 

complete.  The  evidence  is  perfect.  And  it  might 
not  to  be  fora^otten,  that  many  of  the  most  remarkable 
passages  in  the  life  of  Jesus  were  occasioned  by  his 
enemies.  Their  free  agency  led  them  to  the  per- 
formance of  actions  which  accomplished  prophecy, 
and  therefore  verified  his  claims  to  Messiahship. 
Some  of  them  were  bad  men  among  the  Jews,  who, 
though  they  may  have  been  conversant  with  pre- 
dictions regarding  the  expected  Messiah,  yet,  be- 
lieving Jesus  to  be  an  impostor,  they  acted  towards 
him  as  that  belief  prompted,  desiring  to  rid  the 
nation  both  of  him  and  his  doctrine;  nevertheless, 
their  conduct  is  among  the  evidences  of  his  veracity. 
Others  were  idolaters,  and,  consequently,  were  ut- 
terly ignorant  of  the  character  of  Jewish  prophecy, 
yet.  iiie  part  which  they  acted  in  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  Jesus,  perfectly  harmonizes  with  the  fore- 
told experience  of  the  Messiah. 

To  all  this  must  be  added  those  facts  which  have 
been  previously  noted  regarding  the  moral  charac- 
ter of  the  Saviour — his  innocence  of  alleged  crime 
— his  astonishing  miracles — his  remarkable  benefi- 
cence— his  patient  endurance  of  wrong — his  unin- 
terrupted devotedness  to  the  will  of  God — the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  own  predictions — his  victory  over  Satan 
— the  supernatural  attestations  given  to  his  claims, 
and  the  prodigies  attending  his  death  and  resurrec- 
tion. It  is  also  to  be  noted  here,  that  Jesus  himself 
did  not  write  a  syllable  of  his  own  history.  He 
used  no  "ink  and  pen"  for  the  purpose  of  recording 
his  opinions,  or  feelings,  or  doctrines;  or  for  the 
purpose  of  enforcing  his  claims.  He  gave  no  in- 
struction to  his  disciples  what  to  say  regarding  liim. 


332  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

The  Holy  Spirit  brought  to  their  remembrance  after 
his  ascension  the  things  regarding  him,  and  they 
wrote  what  they  had  "seen  and  heard,"  and  recorded 
those  facts  of  whicli  they  had  "perfect  understanding 
from  the  very  first,"  as  Lulie  expresses  himself  in 
the  preface  to  his  gospel.  An  impostor  would  have 
acted  differently.  He  would  have  recorded,  with  his 
own  hand,  his  pretensions  and  opinions,  or  instructed 
his  followers  so  to  present  his  claims  to  men  as  to 
warrant  the  hope  of  obtaining  their  suffrages.  But 
Jesus  did  neither.  He  was  the  Minister  of  truth — 
the  Messiah  long  promised — the  Son  of  God,  and 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  From  the  manger  to  tlie 
sepulclire,  his  life  and  conduct  proclaimed  him  the 
Anointed,  sent  into  the  world  to  put  away  sin. 
From  the  manger  to  the  sepulchre,  every  word, 
every  action,  every  appearance,  and  all  the  moral 
and  physical  consequences  of  his  words  and  actions, 
proclaimed  him  to  be  what  he  said  he  was — the 
Messiah,  An  examination  of  his  life  from  the 
manger  to  the  sepulchre — in  secret,  in  private,  in 
public — among  friends  and  enemies — among  the  poor 
and  the  rich — rejoicing  or  weeping — on  the  Holy 
Mount  or  in  Gethsemane — cleansing  the  temple  or 
nailed  to  the  cross — exclaims  with  Peter,  "Thou 
art  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  the  living  God;"  or 
with  the  centurion,  "Certainly  this  was  a  righteous 
man;"  or  with  the  multitude,  "Truly  this  was  the 
Son  of  God;"  or  with  Thomas,  when  he  gazed  on 
his  risen  Master,  "My  Lord  and  my  God!"  The 
evidence  is  complete. 

What   an    impressive  view    of  the    Divine    bene- 
volence is   afTorded  by  this   amplitude  of  evidence! 


GALILEE.  333 

The  proposal  to  save  was  the  result  of  love.  The 
mode  of  salvation  was  the  dictate  of  love.  The  gift 
of  a  Saviour  was  the  outgoing  of  bve.  And  the  copi- 
ous evidence  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour  is  impressive 
in  its  declaration  that  God  is  love.  The  beauties  of 
a  luxuriant  landscape  were  never  pointed  out  by  a 
summer  sun  with  greater  exactness  and  attractiveness, 
than  are  the  proofs  on  the  field  of  revelation  that  the 
Son  of  God  has  arisen  upon  the  earth,  scattering  love, 
and  joy,  and  life,  from  his  beneficent  hand.  The 
"truth"  has  appeared  in  our  dark  and  delusive 
world,  and  God  would  have  all  men  to  feel  its  in- 
fluence, and  imbibe  its  spirit,  and  journey  from  lime 
to  eternity,  from  the  regions  of  darkness  to  those  of 
everlasting  light,  in  its  sure  keeping.  lie  has  ex- 
pressly revealed  his  mind  on  this  subject,  and,  acting 
in  accordance  with  this  revelation,  he  has  furnished 
all  the  evidence  of  which  the  matter  to  be  attested 
was  capable.  That  our  race  should  be  visited  by  the 
Messiah,  a  Redeemer  mighty  to  save,  was  promised 
from  age  to  age  by  the  Holy  One  of  Israel;  and  the 
promise  was  believed,  and  its  performance  expected 
from  generation  to  generation.  That  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth was  born,  and  lived,  and  died  in  the  favoured 
land,  and  that  he  rose  again  from  the  dead,  about 
the  period  when  the  state  of  the  Jewish  people,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Gentile  nations,  led  all  who  were 
conversant  with  prophecy  to  expect  the  appearance 
of  Messiah,  is  also  placed  beyond  the  possibility  of 
doubt.  That  the  whole  history  of  Jesus  from  the 
manger  to  the  sepulchre  was  extraordinary,  in  the 
highest  degree  wonderful,  and  connected  with  re- 
peated   miraculous   and    supernatural  events,  is   as 


334  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

certain  as  is  the  historical  existence  of  the  Hebrew 
nation,  or  of  the  gigantic  Roman  empire.  An  argu- 
ment against  the  fact  of  the  hfe  and  death  of  Jesus, 
with  all  its  marvellous  concomitants,  would  tell  equal- 
ly against  the  fact  that  the  Cassars  had  a  throne.  If 
the  argument  were  successful  in  the  one  case,  it  would 
be  equally  so  in  the  other.  Indeed,  the  history  of 
Jesus  forms  an  inalienable  part  of  the  history  of  the 
world.  Erase  all  that  pertains  to  Messiah,  and  his 
doctrine,  directly  and  indirectly,  page  by  page,  and 
line  by  line,  from  the  records  of  the  past,  and  what 
will  be  left?  We  should  know  nothing  about  the 
creation  of  our  race,  or  that  of  the  world  we  inhabit; 
nothing  about  the  antediluvian  generations;  nothing 
about  the  infancy  and  growth  of  the  famous  empires 
of  the  east;  nothing  about  that  wonderful  people, 
the  Jews,  who  are  at  once  the  world's  aristocracy  and 
its  republicans;  they  are  the  first,  for  they  can  trace 
their  ancestry  back  with  certainty  over  a  period  of 
three  thousand  eight  hundred  years,  to  their  celebra- 
ted progenitor,  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faithful, 
and  the  "friend  of  God:"  they  are  the  last,  for  they 
remain  to  this  hour,  although  scattered  on  every 
shore  of  earth,  a  consanguineous  nation,  without  a 
king,  without  a  prince,  without  a  sacrifice,  without 
an  image,  without  an  ephod,  and  without  teraphim;" 
yet,  but  for  the  Bible  we  should  be  in  utter  ignorance 
of  all  these  facts,  for  the  Bible  ivas  written  for  the 
express  purpose  of  announcins^  and  retaining  the 
knowledge  of  Messiah;  and  those  statements  which 
it  contains  regarding  the  creation,  the  antediluvian 
world,  the  ancient  eastern  empires,  and  the  Jews 
themselves,  all  relate  to  this  one  grand  jiurpose.   The 


GALILEE.  335 

Messiah  is  the  subject  of  the  Old  Testament  from 
beginning  to  end.  To  prove  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  the  promised  Messiah,  is  the  object  of  the  New 
Testament;  an  object  accompUshed,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  first  place  by  recording  facts  which  all  may- 
compare  with  ancient  prediction  regarding  Messiah, 
and  then,  in  subsequent  parts  of  the  volume,  main- 
taining by  inspired  argument  this  primary  truth. 
Now,  what  is  true  regarding  ancient  history,  or  the 
record  of  those  events  which  took  place  previous  to 
the  birth  of  Christ,  is  true  of  the  world's  history  since. 
We  have  said,  erase  all  that  pertains  to  Messiah 
in  those  very  ancient  annals,  and  what  will  be  left? 
Erase  all  that  pertains  to  Jesus  and  his  doctrine  from 
the  history  of  the  past  eighteen  centuries,  and  how 
much  should  we  know  about  Asia  and  Europe?  We 
are  indebted  to  ecclesiastical  history  for  the  principal 
part  of  our  knowledge  regarding  nations.  And  pro- 
fessedly secular  history  cannot  be  written,  even  by  a 
Gibbon  or  a  Plume,  without  a  thousand  references  to 
Christianity.  It  affects  not  the  argument,  whether 
the  Christianity  of  Europe  has  been  in  a  pure  or  in  a 
corrupted  state  during  these  centuries.  There  it 
ivas,  \£  only  in  name,  still  in  name,  and  its  name  was 
derived  from  its  Founder,  Jesus  Christ.  We  repeat, 
then,  that  if  an  argument  could  be  so  conducted  as 
to  prove  that  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  mere 
fable,  a  tale  of  the  imagination,  then  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  moral  evidence  in  our  world,  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Jews  by  the  Ca3sars  are  fabulous — the 
empire  of  Rome  is  simply  an  invention,  which  some 
have  nevertheless  believed  to  have  been  a  reality; 
the  story  of  "Christian"    Rome,  with    its  "popes," 


336  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

and  "popery,"  and  "persecutions,"  is  also  incapable 
of  any  proof;  all  ecclesiastical  history  is  imaginative, 
and  so,  consequently,  are  the  emperors  and  kings 
who  are  represented  as  acting  important  parts  in 
those  great  church  commotions  which  have  agitated 
Europe  for  many  centuries. 

But,  blessed  be  the  God  of  salvation!  "we  have 
not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables:"  proof,  abun- 
dant as  can  be  desired,  clear  to  the  intellect,  con- 
vincing to  the  judgment,  grateful  to  the  heart,  and 
salutary  to  the  moral  nature  of  man,  is  afforded, 
that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again  as  man's  Redeemer. 
The  evidence  is  complete. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


MOUNT    OLIVET. 


THE    ASCENSION. 


Who  has  not  watched,  with  joyous  emotions,  the  first 
evidences  of  approaching  spring,  after  a  cold  and 
dreary  winter?  or  the  bursting  fortli  of  the  sun- 
beams, after  a  time  of  darkness?  or  the  dawning  of 
a  peaceful  day  after  a  night  of  terror?  or  the  re- 
covery to  heaUh  of  a  valued  life,  after  dangerous 
illness?  or  who  has  not  listened  with  pleasure  to 
the  soul-stirring  notes  of  the  winged  creation  when, 
after  the  torpor  of  the  season  of  cold,  they  made  the 
vale  and  the  forest  attractive  by  their  inimitable 
melody?  or  who  has  not  heard  with  gratitude  the 
intelligence,  that  a  friend  who  had  long  struggled 
with  adversity,  maintaining  his  integrity  of  purpose 
and  nobleness  of  principle  amidst  a  thousand  tempta- 
tions, had,  through  the  good  providence  of  God,  sur- 
mounted all  his  trials,  been  enabled  to  vindicate  his 
profession  before  an  incredulous  world,  and  to  enter 
on  a  course  of  honour  and  happiness  which  should 
gladden  the  evening  of  his  days  with  a  foretaste  of 
immortality,  and  gild  the  twilight  of  his  life  with  a 
ray  from  the  land  of  cloudless  light?  But  all  these 
sources  of  pleasure,  however  gratifying,  for  the  time 
being,   are   only   of  temporary  duration;    the   stern 

3y 


338  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OP    MESSIAH. 

winter  will  come  again;  the  gloomy  day  will  return; 
the  night  of  terror  will  once  more  cast  the  ship  on  the 
merciless  rocks,  and  uproot  the  tall  trees,  and  make 
the  dwellings  of  men  to  tremble;  the  melody  of  the 
forest  will  cease,  and  the  winged  warblers  will  sub- 
mit to  the  authority  of  the  cold  season;  and  the 
good  man  who  had  struggled  with  the  terrible  diffi- 
culties of  life,  and  entered  on  the  enjoyment  of  re- 
pose in  the  evening  of  life,  will  soon  be  summoned  to 
depart  hence,  and  sorrowing  survivors  will  commit 
his  body  to  the  grave.  All  such  pleasures  are  short- 
lived. But,  suppose  now,  that  instead  of  having  to 
draw  consolation  from  the  belief  that  the  soul  of  this 
good,  but  once  tried  man  had  entered  into  rest,  and 
from  the  fact,  that  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection 
that  part  of  his  nature  which  was  sown  in  dishonour 
and  weakness  should,  by  the  authority  of  God,  be 
raised  from  the  dust  of  death  in  glory  and  in  power, 
it  were  our  privilege  to  witness  his  ascension^  in  a 
glorified  form,  soul  and  body,  to  the  heavenly  world, 
would  not  our  joy  regarding  him  be  complete? 
Whatever  our  personal  sorrow  from  having  lost  a 
friend,  an  adviser,  and  a  guide,  we  should  feel  per- 
fectly satisfied  that  he  had  entered  on  a  course  of 
happiness  incapable  of  any  change,  except  that  arising 
from  its  frequent  increase. 

Up  to  a  certain  point  this  may  give  a  faint  idea  of 
the  joy  of  the  disciples,  when,  forty  days  after  his 
resurrection,  they  were  honoured  to  be  the  witnesses 
of  Messiah's  ascension  from  Mount  Olivet,  through 
crowds  of  attending  angels,  to  take  possession  of  the 
highest  seat  of  dignity  in  the  universe,  "on  the  right 
hand  of  God."     But  it  is  only  up  to  a  certain  point, 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  339 

for  there  were  contrasts  in  the  experience  of  Jesus 
that  can  never  be  predicated  of  any  mere  man.  As 
his  trials  were  of  the  most  extraordinary  kind,  so 
his  subsequent  exaltation  and  glory  were,  and  are, 
altogether  peculiar.  In  the  history  of  God's  moral 
government,  there  is  nothing  to  parallel  the  expe- 
rience of  Jesus  Christ,  either  as  the  man  of  sorrows, 
or  as  the  King  of  kings.  As  a  sufferer  and  as  a 
victor  he  stands  absolutely  alone.  He  has  the  pre- 
eminence everywhere,  and  under  all  the  aspects  of 
his  history.  In  its  depth  his  humiliation  was  with- 
out precedent,  for  he  descended  from  eternal  glory 
to  the  condition  of  a  servant,  and  became  the  subject 
of  a  heathen  government.  In  their  intensity  his 
sufferings  were  without  precedent,  for  there  was  no 
sorrow  like  his  sorrow;  and  in  their  cliaracter, 
those  sufferings  were  also  without  precedent,  for  he 
suffered  for  others,  and  endured  the  penalty  which 
law  attached  to  crimes  committed  by  other  beings. 
His  exaltation,  likewise,  is  as  far  above  that  of  other 
beings,  as  his  original  character  surpassed  that  of 
those  over  whom  he  reigned,  or  as  his  position  as 
the  Son  of  God  rises  above  that  of  those  who  have 
been  glorified  for  his  sake.  Moreover,  the  illus- 
tration we  have  selected,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
veying an  idea  of  the  joy  we  should  experience, 
were  we  called  to  witness  the  translation  to  glory  of 
a  long-afflicted  friend,  fails  exactly  at  the  point  of 
greatest  personal  interest  to  us.  We  should  lose 
him.  From  a  recollection  of  his  history  and  example 
we  might  gather  some  useful  lessons;  but  after  his 
exaltation  his  voice  would  fail  to  reach  us,  and  his 
advice  in  the  hour  of  trial  would  be  impossible.     Not 


340,  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

SO,  however,  with  Jesus.  His  removal  to  glory  was 
good  for  his  disciples.  It  was  expedient  for  them  that 
he  siiould  return  to  heaven.  Their  advantage  was 
consulted,  and  secured  by  his  ascension.  He  laid 
not  aside  his  mediatorial  character  when  he  left 
this  earth.  He  only  changed  the  scene  of  its  action 
— unfolded  a  fresh  page  in  its  manifestations — rose 
from  the  cloudy  regions  of  this  world  to  the  meri- 
dian of  the  spiritual  universe  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  whence  the  rays  of  his  love,  the  power  of  his 
grace,  and  the  riches  of  his  mercy  perpetually  de- 
scend, by  the  agency  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  on  the 
hearts  of  the  children  of  men.  He  has  neither  for- 
gotten the  objects  of  his  incarnation,  nor  laid  aside 
the  mediatorial  work,  amidst  the  unspeakable  glories 
that  enrich  his  high  throne.  His  ascension  has  been 
the  cause  of  incalculable  gain  to  all  the  interests 
dependent  on  his  authority.  The  church  on  earth 
can  look  up  by  faith  to  him  who  liveth,  and  was 
dead,  and  is  alive  for  evermore,  and  who  has  the 
keys  of  the  unseen  world  and  of  death;  "for  Christ 
is  not  entered  into  the  holy  places  made  with  hands, 
but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us."  We  do  not  say  that  he  could  not 
have  executed  the  office  of  intercessor,  and  adminis- 
tered the  aflairs  of  the  spiritual  kingdom,  had  he 
chosen  to  remain  on  earth,  for  locality  can  have  no 
influence  either  on  the  work  or  on  the  authority  of 
an  Omnipresent  Saviour;  but  without  removing  the 
ordinary  characteristics  of  our  world,  or  at  least  of 
that  part  of  it  which  he  might  have  selected  as  his 
peculiar  dwelling-place,  there  could  not  have  been 
appropriate  glory  beneath  the  sun  for  the  victorious 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  341 

Messiah.  The  divme  plan  required  his  exaltation 
far  above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might, 
and  dominion;  and  from  his  high  throne  he  sends 
down  on  the  Clmrch  the  invaluable  boon  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  to  guide,  to  sanctify,  and  to  bless. 

To  those  also  who  had  exchanged  earth  for  heaven 
during  the  four  thousand  years  previous  to  his  in- 
carnation, his  triumphant  arrival  at  glory  must  have 
secured  an  accession  of  joy.  From  the  time  when 
the  soul  of  Abel  arrived  at  heaven,  to  that  which 
witnessed  the  entrance  there  of  the  spirit  of  the 
pardoned  thief,  to  whom  forgiveness  was  extended 
amidst  the  agonies  of  crucifixion,  a  very  great  com- 
pany had  been  admitted  to  rest.  They  had  be- 
lieved the  promise  of  a  Saviour,  and  were  saved. 
For  his  sake,  the  population  of  heaven  had  been  re- 
ceiving accessions  for  many  ages.  Now,  it  is  clear, 
that  as  they  knew  in  whom  they  believed,  so  his 
return  from  the  terrible  battle  with  the  hosts  of 
darkness  and  the  rebellious  sons  of  men,  would  be 
hailed  by  them  as  a  new  era  in  their  increasing 
happiness.  The  return  of  a  long  absent  friend  from 
the  exposures  and  toils  of  a  foreign  land,  adds  to 
our  domestic  joy,  although,  during  his  absence,  we 
may  have  been  privileged  with  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  a  peaceful  home.  The  return  of  a  king 
from  the  field  of  battle  to  the  metropolis  of  his  do- 
minions, carrying  with  him  the  trophies  of  victory, 
and  bearing  on  his  body  tlie  scars  of  war,  is  the 
signal  for  gladness  and  mutual  gratulations  among 
his  loyal  subjects,  albeit  that,  during  his  absence  the 
affairs  of  the  kingdom  may  have  been  wisely  ad- 
29* 


342  THE    FOOTSTEPS     OF    MESSIAH. 

ministered.  But  here  the  myriads  of  glorified  spirits 
saw  the  triumphal  entry  both  of  a  Friend  and  a 
Sovereign,  attended  by  a  magnificent  procession  of 
mighty  angels,  —  "thousands  upon  thousands,"  — 
calling,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  0,  ye  gates ;  even  hft 
them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors ;  and  the  King  of 
glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is  this  King  of  glory? 
The  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the  Lord  mighty  in 
battle;  he  is  the  King  of  glory,"  And  would  they 
not  shout  through  all  their  ranks,  as  they  beheld  the 
approach  of  their  triumphant  Redeemer  and  King 
to  the  glorious  metropolis  of  his  dominions,  "Thou 
hast  ascended  on  high;  thou  hast  led  captivity  cap- 
tive; thou  hast  received  gifts  from  men,  that  the 
Lord  God  might  dwell  among  them?"  And  as  on 
that  head  which  was  crowned  with  thorns,  were 
placed  the  many  crowns  which  symbolize  his  au- 
thority over  the  various  orders  of  intelligences  in 
the  universe,  would  not  they  cast  their  crowns  of 
gold  at  liis  feet,  and  fall  down  before  him,  saying, 
"Thou  art  worthy:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kin- 
dred, and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation?"  We 
know  but  little  of  the  glory  and  happhiess  of  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  but  whilst  we  know 
that 

"The  head  that  was  once  crowned  with  tliorns 
Is  crowned  with  glory  now; 
A  royal  diadem  adorns 

Tlie  mighty  victor's  brow;" 

we  are  permitted,  in  faith  and  hope,  to  breathe  the 
prayer. 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  343 

"Oh,  that  with  yonder  sacred  throng, 
We,  at  liis  feet  may  fall, 
Join  in  the  everlasting  song 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all!" 

And  to  the  angels  who  kept  their  first  estate,  the 
ascension  of  Messiah  to  his  throne  must  have  been 
a  source  of  holy  joy.  Many  of  them  had  been  em- 
ployed as  his  servants,  during  the  time  of  his  min- 
istry on  earth.  They  had  witnessed  his  humilia- 
tion, and  sufferings,  and  agony,  and  death,  with 
profound  astonishment  at  the  extent  of  his  forbear- 
ance with  his  guilty  creatures,  and  the  depth  of  his 
love  to  the  enemies  of  his  throne  and  sceptre;  and 
whilst  doubtless  assured  that  the  mystery  would  re- 
ceive a  solution  at  the  appointed  time,  they  were 
perhaps  not  informed  of  the  magnificent  issue  of  all 
these  strange  proceedings;  certain  it  is,  however, 
that  the  innumerable  host  of  angels  adore  the  Mes- 
siah, "saying,  with  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  blessing!"  They  see  in  his  exaltation  to  the 
throne  of  dominion,  the  working  out  of  the  glori- 
ous plan  by  which  it  was  purposed  to  reconcile  all 
things  in  heaven  and  on  earth; — the  justice  of  God 
in  bestowing  on  him  who  made  his  soul  an  offering 
for  sin,  the  highest  honours  in  the  universe; — the 
guarantee  for  the  arrival  at  a  blessed  immortality  of 
all  who  follow  his  steps; — and  the  pledge  of  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  righteousness  and  holiness  over 
rebellion  and  impurity  in  all  their  forms.  They  see 
— and  the  sight  suggests  "a  new  song"  of  gratitude 


344  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OV    MESSIAH. 

to  the  ever-living  Jehovah — that  the  combination  of 
the  powers  of  darkness  against  God  and  his  Christ, 
prompted  by  envy  and  sustained  by  mahgnity,  shall 
eventually  tend  only  to  prove  the  inherent  weakness 
of  evil,  and  the  victory  of  essential  good,  over  all 
that  ventures  to  oppose  its  manifestations.  They  see 
— and  the  sight  confirms  them  in  their  resolution  to 
remain  eternally  loyal  to  their  Creator's  throne — 
that  the  condition  of  individual  happiness  is  un- 
swerving obedience  to  tlie  righteous  authority  of  the 
Most  High;  for  though  he  may  have  interposed  to 
bring  good  out  of  evil,  by  an  act  of  transcendent 
mercy  to  an  inferior  order  of  his  creatures,  yet  so 
far  is  this  unprecedented  act  from  inspiring  the  sen- 
timent, that  superior  orders  may  sin  with  impunity, 
that  it  conveys  the  idea  of  his  measureless  abhor- 
rence of  iniquity  in  every  shape;  and  that  if  he 
whose  love  to  his  degraded  creatures  of  the  human 
race  was  so  great  as  to  prompt  the  wish  to  save 
them,  could  not  do  so  without  the  subjection  of  his 
well-beloved  Son  to  a  penal  death,  how  vain  the  ex- 
pectation that  beings  of  a  higher  order  and  enjoying 
greater  light,  should,  if  falling  away  from  moral  rec- 
titude, experience  a  similar  redemption  at  similar 
cost!  There  can  be  no  higher  proof  that  God  is 
holy,  than  the  exaltation  to  his  right  hand  of  him 
who  died  to  magnify  his  unalterable  law.  It  is  the 
chmax  of  all  evidence,  the  final  argument,  the  last 
appeal;  and  if  any  unsettled  spirit  from  any  region 
of  creation,  could  find  its  way  to  the  shores  of 
heaven,  and  be  informed  that  Jesus  Christ,  who 
once  died  on  earth  to  make  honourable  the  violated 
law  of  God,  was  the  occupant  of  the   throne,  he 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  345 

would  be  at  once  convinced  that  it  was  utterly  im- 
possible either  to  expect  a  relaxation  of  that  law,  or 
to  transgress  it  without  the  certainty  of  condign 
punishment.  To  sin,  because  the  Lawgiver  is  mer- 
ciful, is  clearly  to  add  to  the  bitterness  of  guilt  its 
most  daring  and  most  dangerous  element ;  and  to 
liope  that  any  higher  order  of  beings  will  experience 
a  redemption  similar  to  that  which  has  been  procured 
for  man,  if  they  make  the  mercy  shown  to  man  a 
precedent  for  their  rebellion,  is  to  hope  for  a  de- 
clared impossibility;  for  "without  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission,"  and  Jesus  Christ  "dieth  no 
more!"  The  most  costly  sacrifice  in  the  universe 
was  provided  for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race ;  and 
though  man  may  madly  forget  this,  angels  never 
will;  and  whilst  the  recollection  thereof  will  lead 
them  eternally  to  adore  the  God  of  love,  it  will  ever 
be  associated  with  an  indelible  impression  of  the 
unspeakable  beauty  of  perfect  holiness. 

For  mark,  now,  who  is  he  who  sits  "upon  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens,"  and  to  whom 
"angels,  and  principalities,  and  powers,  are  subject?" 
Jesus  Christ,  born  of  a  woman,  and  made  under 
the  law!  Humanity  exalted  to  super-angelic  au- 
thority! Humanity  reigning!  Why?  Is  it  incre- 
dible? Let  us  recollect  the  facts  of  this  marvellous 
case,  as  far  as  the  mystery  of  redemption  has  been 
announced  to  us.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  as  the 
starting  point,  the  immutable  basis  of  all  argument 
on  this  majestic  subject,  that  Jesus  Christ  combined  in 
himself  two  natures,  that  of  essential  Deity,  and  that 
of  sinless  humanity;  he  was  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Son  of  Man.     But  it  was  in  the  mediatorial  capacity 


346  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

that  he  suffered  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself,  without  murmuring;  that  he  was  tempted, 
without  sinning;  that  he  underwent  a  probation  of 
thirty  years,  amidst  daily  exposure  to  evil,  without 
swerving  from  allegiance  to  the  holy  law;  that  the 
kingdoms  and  glory  of  earth  were  offered  to  him 
amidst  poverty  and  solitude,  and  rejected  with  un- 
yielding firmness;  that  he  endured  the  betrayal,  de- 
nial, and  desertion  of  some  of  his  disciples  without 
repining;  and  that  he  bore  the  fearful  agonies  of 
Gethesemane  and  Calvary,  and  the  hiding  of  his 
Father's  face,  without  failing.  Neither  the  wicked- 
ness of  earth,  nor  the  malice  of  hell,  nor  the  with- 
drawal of  Heaven's  smiles,  nor  all  united,  could 
induce  him  to  betray  the  honour  of  his  Father's 
law.  "  He  was  tempted  in  all  points,  yet  without 
sin."  He  suffered  the  wrath  of  men  whom  he  had 
never  injured,  and  the  wrath  of  God  whom  he  had 
never  offended,  and  he  prayed  for  the  former,  and 
adored  the  latter,  in  the  midst  of  all.  His  endurance 
was  as  extraordinary  as  his  resolution,  and  his  cha- 
racter, as  the  object  of  his  sufferings;  and  that  object 
was  nothing  less  than  the  realization  of  Divine  love, 
in  the  redemption  of  those  whose  nature  he  bore, 
consistently  with  the  claims  of  Divine  government. 
Such  extraordinary  service  to  God  and  to  the  moral 
universe  required  extraordinary  reward.  The  eter- 
'  nal  covenant,  consequently,  secured  the  elevation  of 
Messiah  to  the  highest  honour  in  the  universe,  in 
the  event  of  his  fidelity  to  his  engagements  and  the 
complete  success  of  his  undertaking.  The  Son  of 
God  assumed  humanity  that  this  service  might  be 
rendered,  and  those  sufferings  endured,  in  the  nature 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  347 

whicli  liad  rebelled;  and  the  elevation  to  tlie  throne, 
of  that  body  whicli  had  suffered  and  died,  and  which 
arose   from   the   dead  without  experiencing  corrup- 
tion, was  a  guaranteed  part  of  the  Messiah's  reward. 
Without  sinning,  he  suffered — dying,  he  atoned  for 
guilt  which  he   had   not  committed — and  rising,  a 
victor    over    all   the   enemies   of    God,  '^'this  same 
Jesus''^  was  taken  up  into  heaven.     The  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles  sums  up  the  subject  thus: — "Christ  Je- 
sus, being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  with  God:  but  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  was  made   in  the  likeness  of  men:   and  being 
found  in    fashion   as   a  man,  he   humbled  himself, 
and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross.     Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted 
him,  and   given  him  a  name  which  is  above  every 
name:    that    at    the    name    op   Jesus   every  knee 
should  bow,   of   things    in   heaven,   and   things   in 
earth,  and  things  under  the   earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father."      Now  can  any  in- 
telligent being  in  heaven  behold,  or  on  earth  believe, 
the  honour  with  which  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Man,  is  in- 
vested, without  feeling  satisfied,  beyond  the  necessity 
of  further  question,  that  as  God  has  raised  him  who 
magnified  the  law  on  earth  to  the  highest  dignity  in 
heaven,  in  proof  of  his  approbation,  so  the   main- 
tenance of  that  law  in  all   its  integrity  throughout 
the  entire  universe,  is  an  eternal  purpose  from  which 
there  can  be  no  departure?      And  if  sin  has  been 
"put  away,"  at  such  a  sacrifice,  and  obedience  re- 
warded with  such  magnificent   honours,  Jehovah's 


348  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

abhorrence  of  the  former  and  approbation  of  the  latter 
are  placed  beyond  doubt — set  in  the  clearest  light — 
wondroiisly  illustrated.  A  lesson  has  been  read  to 
the  intelligent  creation  which  can  never  be  forgotten, 
whilst  the  redeemed  have  being,  or  Jesus  sits  upon 
the  throne. 

Our  blessed  Lord  ascended  to  heaven  as  the  fore- 
runner of  his  people.  His  exaltation  is  the  guar- 
antee of  theirs.  The  members  shall  ascend  to  the 
Head,  the  disciples  to  their  great  Prophet.  He  has 
gone  before  to  prepare  a  place  for  them  in  the  house 
of  many  mansions.  He  will  receive  them  to  him- 
self. They  shall  reign  with  him.  His  prayer  on 
earth,  the  perusal  of  which  has  cheered  many  a  des- 
ponding spirit,  was  this: — "Neither  pray  1  for  these 
alone," — his  then  living  people — "but  for  them  also 
who  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word;  that 
they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us :  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And 
the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given  them; 
that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one :  I  in  them, 
and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in 
one;  and  that  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast 
sent  me,  and  hast  loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me. 
Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given 
me,  be  with  me,  where  I  am;  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me:  for  thou  lovedst 
me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Elsewhere, 
addressing  the  Father,  he  said,  "Thou  hearest  me 
always."  The  Redeemer's  prayers  lie  not  unan- 
swered. His  intercession  is  always  available.  The 
desire,  then,  that  his  people  be  with  him  to  behold 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  349 

his  glory,  will  be  realized.  The  prayer  will  be  fally 
and  gloriously  answered.  They  shall  see  his  face 
and  be  like  him.  They,  too,  shall  rise  beyond  the 
reach  of  all  their  enemies,  leaving  earth,  and  sin, 
and  grief,  and  time,  behind,  and  shall  enter  into  "the 
joy  of  their  Lord."  He  is  in  heaven.  It  is  their 
destined  home.  He  dies  no  more.  Death  shall  no 
more  disturb  their  enjoyments,  nor  deduct  from  the 
number  of  those  they  love,  nor  cast  a  shadow  across 
the  plains  of  heaven.  Their  treasure  is  there,  and 
their  hearts  are  there,  and  he  will,  according  to  his 
promise,  receive  them  to  himself.  His  intercession 
for  them  now,  afibrds  strong  consolation  on  this,  as 
on  every  other  subject  of  spiritual  solicitude;  for 
"  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them. 
Such  an  High  Priest,"  says  the  Apostle,  "became 
us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from 
sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the  heavens;  who 
needeth  not  daily,  as  those  high  priests" — the  Jew- 
ish, under  the  law — "to  offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for 
his  own  sins,  and  then  for  the  people's:  for  this  he 
did  once,  when  he  offered  up  himself.  For  the  law 
maketh  men  high  priests  who  have  infirmity;  but 
the  word  of  the  oath,  Avhich  was  since  the  law, 
maketh  the  Son,  who  is  consecrated  for  evermore." 
Because  he  lives,  his  people  shall  live  also.  "  In 
him  was  life."  He  has  "life  in  himself."  He  is 
"the  resurrection  and  the  life."  He  is  "the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life."  He  is  "the  Prince  of  life." 
Paul  tells  the  Romans,  that  "they  who  receive 
abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness 
shall  reign  in  life  by  Jesus  Christ;"  and  that  "'as  sin 
hath  reigned  unto  death,  even  so  does  grace  reign 

30 


350  THE    FOOTSTEPS    OF    MESSIAH. 

through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life  by  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  To  the  Colossians,  he  writes 
thus: — "If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those 
things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the 
right  hand  of  God.  Set  your  affections  on  things 
above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth.  For  ye  are  dead, 
and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  When 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye 
also  appear  with  him  in  glory." 

This  is  the  grand  purpose  of  the  great  salvation. 
The  followers  of  Jesus  shall  be  all  glorified.  To 
secure  this,  the  whole  system  of  grace  was  arranged 
by  eternal  wisdom:  the  mercy  of  God  has  been  pro- 
claimed, the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate,  lived  and 
died  among  men,  arose  from  the  grave,  and  ascended 
to  glory,  that  eternal  life  might  be  enjoyed  by  all 
his  saints.  For  this  object  he  reigns  in  heaven,  and 
carries  on  his  righteous  government  on  earth,  and 
gives  effect  to  his  Gospel  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit. 
This  is  the  honour  which  all  who  confide  in  his 
promises,  and  plead  his  atonement,  and  rest  on  the 
merits  of  his  sacrifice,  and  follow  his  steps,  and  love 
his  appearing,  are  warranted  to  look  for  when  mor- 
tality shall  be  swallowed  up  of  life ;  an  honour  too 
great  for  present  conception;  "for  now  we  see 
through  a  glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face:  now 
we  know  in  part,  but  then  shall  we  know  even  as 
also  we  are  known.  For  we  know  that  if  this  earthly 
house  of  our  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a 
building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."  Happy  are  those  who — by 
faith  in  the  exalted  Redeemer,  and  the  witness  of 
the   Spirit  with    theirs — can  say  with  the   beloved 


MOUNT    OLIVET.  351 

disciple  regarding  himself,  and  those  to  whom  he 
wrote,  "Now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be:  but  we  know  that, 
when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

In  closing  this  review  of  passages  in  the  history  of 
our  adored  and  exalted  Redeemer — the  great  Mes- 
siah promised  to  the  fathers — who  now  occupies  the 
central  throne  of  his  vast  dominions,  it  is  needless 
to  add  any  reflections  on  what  has  been  written,  as 
the  nature  of  the  work  required  such  remarks,  as 
might  otherwise  be  appropriate  here,  to  be  made 
during  its  progress.  We  would,  therefore,  with 
gratitude  and  reverence,  say  with  the  Apostle  Paul, 
"  IVithout  controversy  great  is  the  tnystery  of  godli- 
ness: God  was  manifest  in  the  tlesh,  justified 
IN  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto 
the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  re- 
ceived UP  into  glory." 


THE  END, 


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